Hope is Alive

I love looking up definitions. The cute little dictionary icon at the bottom of the screen is one of my favorite features on my computer and it receives an abundant amount of clicks on any given day. I really enjoy digging deeper into the meaning of words and I appreciate the richer perspective it gives me. This particular blog is evidence of that, and I just figured I’d let you know in advance.

I want to share something that has been stirring in my heart recently. If I keep it really simple, it would be one word. Hope. I cannot, however, leave it at just that. The Lord has shown me some neat things and I’d like to pass them on to you.

In Webster’s 1828 dictionary hope is defined as a desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. The word “hope” is mentioned in 121 verses in the Bible. In many verses it is used in the traditional sense in communicating a desire of some good. Hope is a very scriptural and spiritual thing! More than just a feeling or whimsical thought or wish! I often hear people use the words hope and wish interchangeably, but they could not be further from each other in meaning. To wish for something means to want something that cannot or probably will not happen. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to the things of the Spirit and this life of faith we’re living, I don’t want to just go around wishing for this and wishing for that, not expecting anything. When we hope, we are expectant. We feel excited that something good is about to happen. I want to live with great expectancy for the good things the Lord has in store for me! Psalm 27:13 says “I would have been without hope if I had not believed that I would see the loving-kindness of the Lord…” I believe for and expect good things!

One of my favorite scriptures is Jeremiah 29:11; one I’m sure you’re familiar with. It says the Lord has plans to give us hope and a future. The Message Bible puts it this way, “…plans to give you the future you hope for.” The Lord wants us to hope and expect Him to do great things for us! He’s working on plans for you right now! Hebrews 6:19 says that hope is the very anchor of our souls. In the dictionary (don’t say I didn’t warn you), anchor is described as a person or thing that provides stability or confidence in an otherwise uncertain situation! Anyone out there besides me ever find themselves in an uncertain situation? Hope gives us the stability and confidence we need! So, where does this hope come from? Romans 15:13 tells us: “I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.” God is the source of all hope! Isn’t that just like our Father to provide something for us that would anchor us and keep us strong! I Peter 1:3-6 lets us know that because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can live with great expectation! Ours is a living hope and a confident assurance because of what our Savior did for us! Another translation says we have a hope that never dies. Hallelujah! Romans 12:12 says “Let your hope keep you joyful.” See friends, even in our darkest and most desperate times, hope is alive, anchoring us to weather the most turbulent of storms and causing us to rejoice, for we can always expect our Father to come through for us!

So, how do we get that hope flowing to us and through us? I’d like to leave you with the following devotion found in the Faith to Faith Daily Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland for the answer to that question. I believe this will bless you. Enjoy!

From Faith to Faith—Daily Devotional July 10

Turn Up Your Hope

Kenneth Copeland

May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope. Romans 15:13, The Amplified Bible

You know, that's what I want to be...running over with hope! I want to dare to throw my whole life and everything I have into building a dream that comes from the heart of God. I want to get out there so far that without God's help, I can't get back.

Many people don't think that way though because they're afraid to fail. Fear of failure is dangerous. If you let it dominate you, it will cause you to do the one thing that inevitably guarantees failure and that's not attempting at all.

How do you counteract the fear of failure?

You turn up your hope. You get alone with God and listen to Him. You meditate on His promises until the picture is so clear on the inside of you that nothing can jar it out of you.

If you're lying on a sickbed and the doctor has told you you'll never walk again, instead of wallowing around in that bad report, you start dreaming. You start building a dream of climbing mountains and witnessing to people in the backwoods. Go to the Word that promises that those who wait upon the Lord shall run and walk and not faint or be weary. Look at it until you see nothing else. Picture yourself walking for miles and running from one place to the next, telling everyone that Jesus has raised you up and made you whole.

That's what hope is all about. It's a divine dream. It's an inner image that's bigger than you are because it's built on the promises of God.

If you're a Christian, you ought to be a dreamer. Take the Word of God and build some dreams today.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 33:18-22