“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
It was going to be the car of my dreams! Yes, it was a brand new 1966 Chevelle SS 396 that was navy blue in color with black interior along with leather Astro bucket seats with a beautiful manual four-speed transmission. It would have Cragar mags to dress up the fancy tires that were red-lined. What a beauty she would be and she would be mine. Everything I hoped for in a new car and the order was placed to purchase it. But there were other forces at work, my mother in particular, and she cancelled the order when it came in for delivery because she wanted me to attend a private college in Florida instead. My hopes were dashed, crushed, defeated, zippo, gone!
That’s the way it is in life when we choose to place our hope in the things of this world. Oh, owning, driving, showing off the Chevelle would have been sweet alright, but how long does a new car stay new anyway? Hope can actually serve as either a blessing or a curse. It all depends on what you’re placing your hope in. It is just so easy for us to base our hopes on those things we can see, feel, touch and smell. And so we fall for the trap that our adversary has placed before us.
Through the inspired pages of God’s Word we can see as it were through the right lens and learn to focus on what real hope is based on. Webster defines hope in this way: “Desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment … to desire with expectation of obtainment … to expect with confidence.” The apostle Paul wanted the brethren to whom he penned this letter to understand and realize where their hope should be focused and based on … God Almighty the source of eternal hope, life and salvation. We can desire to know, honor and obey Him … we can expect from Him as He promised throughout His Word that He will forgive us of our sins as we comply with His conditions of pardon and know that He will always be with us.
All of this comes with the confidence we gain from reading and studying His Word (Romans 15:4) and realize He is truly “I am that I am”! He is the Creator and Sustainer of life! And He will one day call us all before His throne to answer for our belief or unbelief.
The writer of Hebrews writes that our God wants us to draw encouragement from His holy character and establish our hope in Him alone (Hebrews 6:18, 19). This is why the Scriptures describe this hope “as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast.”
The person who chooses, and we all have the ability to choose, to base their hope on anything or anyone other than God is building their life here and determining their spiritual destiny on shifting sands that offer no stability or permanence. The person whose hope is in God is building on a firm and lasting foundation that can and will withstand any challenge, situation and circumstance that life and this world can throw at them!
There is great tragedy to be seen in facing death with no hope! The tragedy of facing life without hope is a scene no right-thinking person should ever want to face. The truth of the matter is this: None of us are actually prepared to live or to die until we are firmly grounded in the hope of the Christian! May your hope always rest on the testimony of deity, not the words of men! You must make the call …
“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:25, 26).
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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