Hope
Monday, November 25 Romans 5:1-5
“Hope does not disappoint us”
To be forgiven ofour sins through the death of Jesus is the most important blessing that thegospel brings to our lives. But itdoesn’t come alone. It opens a door ofhope through which each reconciled sinner may look forward to a whole new worldof many blessings.
Hope is the keyword of this passage: (1) our hope rests on this newreality, established between us and God, that we are at peace with him. There is now room in our hearts for the hopethat God will continue to bless us. (2)Our hope is not impaired but confirmed by our present troubles. The Christian who perseveres during times oftrouble is an approved or accredited believer. Is it not true that when the tested Christian finds his faith has proveditself genuine, his hope will grow and become all the more confident? (3) Our hope is warranted by the proof whichwe already possess of the love of God for us. That proof is the Holy Spirit who lives in us, a gift of grace notearned or deserved but given because we are loved by God.
Thank you,Father, for your love which affirms my hope in you. Amen.
Tuesday, November 26 Psalm 42:1-11
“I will put my hopein God”
The message of the forty-second psalm is that we need not be overwhelmedor cast down in times of trouble. Instead, we are encouraged to confide in God with every confidence thatall will yet be well, that all will be used by God for our good, and thatbrighter and happier days will come. Thisis what it means to put our hope in God.
In a world of trouble and sorrow such as ours; in the distress whichsprings up in the heart when, from sickness or from any other cause, we arelong deprived of a healthy quality of life; how imperfect would be a bookprofessing to be a revelation from God if it did not contain some such psalm asthis, so accurately describing the feelings of those who are in suchcircumstances, so well suited to direct us to the true source of hope. Psalms like this make the Bible a completebook, and show that he who gave it knows what is in us and knows what we needin our times of sadness.
I remember your loving kindness, Lord, andI put my hope in you. Amen.
Wednesday, November 27 Colossians 1:1-8
“The faith and lovethat spring from your hope”
Paul is giving us a description of the Christian life. First, he gives thanks for the gift of faithin Christ Jesus. The heartbeat of Paul’spreaching was to be made right with God by grace through faith. It is faith that brings Christ into ourlives. Second, Paul gives thanks fortheir love for all of God’s people. Theywere supportive of Christians in other churches, praying for them andcontributing financially to those in need. Third, Paul names hope which is the quality of life that is promised toall who believe, a quality of life we begin to experience in the here and now,but which will be perfected in heaven.
Here is the great triad of Christian virtues, describing the Christianway of life: faith, hope, and love. These remain though all else may perish (see 1 Corinthians 13). Faith is directed to Christ and is inChrist; love is to and for fellow believers; hope is forthe coming of full salvation. Interestingly, hope is not a reward for our faith and love. Rather, the hope that is ours is the source (the“spring”) of our faith in Christ and our love for others.
Lord, I pray that my life reflects these forever truths: faith, hope, and love. Amen.
Thursday, November 28 Psalm 130:1-8
“Put your hope in the Lord”
Advent begins on Sunday,when we start thinking about the first coming of Jesus but also about hissecond coming. The second coming mattersbecause Jesus still has a job to finish; the basis for believing that it willhappen is that he really has begun it. As Christians we celebrate Christ’s first coming, and expect and waitfor his second coming.
Thanksgiving is today, whichreminds me of a conversation I had with a woman several years ago. She was telling me about her work as an ERnurse and how she had to work on Thanksgiving. I asked her what kind of emergencies happen on Thanksgiving. She told me about the young man who was shotby his father during dinner, and the high number of attempted suicides aroundthe holidays. Yes, there is a job forJesus to finish. Fortunately, the factthat people put their hope in the Lord brings harmony to many families andgives many people a reason to carry on living in times of struggle and loss. This shows us that Jesus has begun the work,and gives us the confident hope that he will indeed finish what he has started.
Thank you, Jesus,for coming to earth that I may put my hope in you. Amen.
Friday, November 29 1 Peter 1:3-9
“God has given usnew birth into a living hope”
What has the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead done forChristians? It has given us the grace ofhope. Peter expresses this when heexclaims that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, is blessed, because from hisabundant mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope by his Son'sresurrection from the dead. Among otherthings, such hope spurs us on to godly living.
No one who has not a clear belief in a future life can have permanentlya strong sense of moral responsibility in this life. A person may, indeed, persuade himself duringvarious periods of his existence that his sense of responsibility is the purerfrom not being bribed by the promise of future reward or stimulated by thedread of future punishment. But, for allthat, his moral life, if he has not an eternal future before him, is weak andimpoverished because he has fewer and feebler motives to right action. He needs a hope resting on something beyondthe sphere of earthly space and time, and God has given him one by theresurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Lord, I will continue to depend on you andlive for you. Amen.
Saturday, November 30 Isaiah 40:27-31
“Those who hope in the Lord will renewtheir strength”
Sometimes we feel forsaken by God. Our "way" seems to be hidden from him. We suffer, and God seems indifferent. We experience the injustices of the world, andGod does not defend us. We read hisWord, which makes sense to others, but not to us. We begin to project onto God this weaknessthat is in us: he must be growing weary and faint in caring for us.
God replies by first appealing to our intelligence. “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” Look away from yourself and see God’s work increation. Listen to those who witness toGod’s love and grace in their lives. Heis the everlasting God who is faithful and trustworthy. Then, God shares with us the wisdom ofhopeful waiting. Even the spirituallystrong, so full of life and vigor, will feel abandoned at times and becomespiritually weak. This is when hopefulwaiting looks to the Lord for renewed strength, a strength that surpasses whatwas experienced before, allowing for new and amazing soaring in the powerfuland loving Spirit of God.
By your Spirit, Lord, lift me up when I amdown and give me strength. Amen.