Never Lose Hope.
We're going to take a look at the concept of hope, what it means to have hope, and what it means to lose hope. We'll examine its importance, which we can't even begin to measure in any real sense, because without it, we have nothing. We'll look at where hope originates from, how we can nurture it, and how we can hold on to it in a world that increasingly seeks to diminish it, and to take it away from us.
There is an undeniable and unbreakable bond between hope and faith. In fact, it is not at all unreasonable to assert that we cannot have one without the other. If we have faith in God, and in what He has done and will do, for us, then we have a hope that the world cannot take away. If we have hope for the future, real hope, we know that it stems from faith in God and in His control of all things. So, we see that hope and faith are intertwined. They are in no way mutually exclusive, that is to say, you cannot have faith without at the same time having hope, and you cannot have true hope without having faith in the One who gives you your hope.
There is a beautiful old hymn, written by Edward Mote almost 200 years ago, entitled "My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less", and the words are both powerful and thought-provoking...
"My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the 'whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. When He shall come with trumpet sound, oh may I then in Him be found, dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand."
And Jesus is our Hope. We read in Romans 5:1-5..."Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."
Just as we established earlier, one cannot have hope without faith. In the same way, one cannot have hope without peace. If we are not at peace with God, there is no hope for our future. We cannot direct our own lives and at the same time be at peace with God. We read in Jeremiah 10:23..."O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." How true a statement this is. We cannot be in control of our own lives, with no regard for God, and be at peace at the same time. Sadly, this is the root cause of depression, despair, hopelessness, and addiction. One who has not come to know Jesus Christ, who has not been washed in His blood, not been justified by faith in Him, cannot have peace with God, and therefore cannot be at peace with himself, and depression, loneliness, despair, addiction, and even suicide are the end result. Even believers are not immune, and can easily slip into these traps if they allow themselves to drift too far from the shore, to be drawn away by the countless other things which would take our attention away from God and from His plan for our life. We have to maintain our hope in God, as we read in Psalm 31:24..."Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." It is the ultimate tragedy when a believer loses hope because it means that they have lost faith, they have let go of the one thing to which they should have held onto with all their might, the only thing that could save them. Psalm 119:114 tells us..."Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word." Jesus is our Hope, and we cannot take our eyes off of Him, we cannot allow the problems that we face, and the cares of this present world, to shift our focus from Him. Remember, Peter was able to walk upon the water only as long as his eyes were on Jesus. When the storm around him drew his attention away, he began to sink. Simply put, we cannot allow ourselves to lose sight of the fact that this life is not all that there is. Our reality need not be defined solely by what we can see, or hear, or feel. Our eternal destiny is dependent upon our looking beyond this temporal world. Paul tells us in Romans 5:2..."...we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." We have reason to rejoice, simply because we have the hope of heaven, through His grace we look forward to the fruition of His promises, of the home which He is preparing for us.
Paul goes on to say that we are to "glory in tribulations also", because "tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope." This is difficult to put into practice, but God expects us to have a certain immunity to the cares and problems of the world because our hope of glory should override any difficulties which we face in this life. Certainly, this is much easier said than done, but just as Paul so eloquently expresses, here, as well as in 2 Timothy 4, this is a process which we must endure, a race that we all must run, a course we must finish, in order to be found worthy of the crown which is laid up for us. We go through tribulations, which strengthen our patience. This leads to experience, which we can rely on to face future challenges, and when all of these factors come together, we have an innate sense of hope for the future. Hope is the end result of the trials we face. Tribulation leads to patience, which leads to experience, and finally, our end result is hope. Interestingly, when Paul tells us, in verse 3, that "tribulation worketh patience" the original Greek word used there is "dokimen", which means "he is approved that has passed the test." So, we see that the tribulations that we face are really nothing more than a test, which we must pass, and when we do, our patience is tested, and tried, which leads to experience, and our experiences lead us into a mindset of hope for the future. Paul concludes in verse 5 with a powerful statement..."And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Hope maketh not ashamed. What does Paul mean by this? The hope that we have in Jesus is not, and never will be, misplaced. We read in Proverbs 10:28..."The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish." We have an everlasting hope, and it will never deceive us, never disappoint us, never leave us wanting. It is a hope which is bolstered by the Holy Spirit, living in us and working through us, a living hope, which can never be extinguished.
Another aspect of hope is brought to light in Romans 8:24-25..."For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Hope is here linked with salvation, thereby establishing it as being on the same level with grace, and with faith. Therefore, its importance cannot be overstated. We MUST have hope. However, at the same time, we hope for something which we have not yet seen, and this forever links hope with faith. And if we, through faith, by grace, hope for that which we have not yet seen, we will patiently wait for it, because we know that God has promised it to us, and we believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We read in Lamentations 3:26..."It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord."
Though there are many verses referring to hope throughout the Bible, and countless instances in which hope is relied upon, and proven, we have but limited time here to expound upon it. To attempt to define all that faith, and hope, entail, would take more time and space than that which we are allowed. However, there is one final verse which beautifully summarizes what it means to have faith, and to have hope, and it is found in Hebrews 11:1, where we read..."Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." This verse, at first, seems rather cryptic in nature, not easily understood, and so, we must consider it carefully, dissect it, in order to fully grasp its meaning. "...faith is the substance of things hoped for..." we believe with every fiber of our being that God will do for us all that He has promised, as we read in 2 Timothy 1:12..."...I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." And our belief, our faith, and our hope are all interwoven, and work together to give us a kind of foretaste of glory. Jesus living in us, working through us, the indwelling of His Spirit, is the evidence of things not seen, our assurance of future glory, of a home not made with hands, where we will be with Him forever more.
Jesus has promised that He would never leave us, nor forsake us, and our belief in Him is the grounds for our hope.
Never Lose Hope.
There is an undeniable and unbreakable bond between hope and faith. In fact, it is not at all unreasonable to assert that we cannot have one without the other. If we have faith in God, and in what He has done and will do, for us, then we have a hope that the world cannot take away. If we have hope for the future, real hope, we know that it stems from faith in God and in His control of all things. So, we see that hope and faith are intertwined. They are in no way mutually exclusive, that is to say, you cannot have faith without at the same time having hope, and you cannot have true hope without having faith in the One who gives you your hope.
There is a beautiful old hymn, written by Edward Mote almost 200 years ago, entitled "My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less", and the words are both powerful and thought-provoking...
"My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the 'whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. When He shall come with trumpet sound, oh may I then in Him be found, dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand."
And Jesus is our Hope. We read in Romans 5:1-5..."Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."
Just as we established earlier, one cannot have hope without faith. In the same way, one cannot have hope without peace. If we are not at peace with God, there is no hope for our future. We cannot direct our own lives and at the same time be at peace with God. We read in Jeremiah 10:23..."O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." How true a statement this is. We cannot be in control of our own lives, with no regard for God, and be at peace at the same time. Sadly, this is the root cause of depression, despair, hopelessness, and addiction. One who has not come to know Jesus Christ, who has not been washed in His blood, not been justified by faith in Him, cannot have peace with God, and therefore cannot be at peace with himself, and depression, loneliness, despair, addiction, and even suicide are the end result. Even believers are not immune, and can easily slip into these traps if they allow themselves to drift too far from the shore, to be drawn away by the countless other things which would take our attention away from God and from His plan for our life. We have to maintain our hope in God, as we read in Psalm 31:24..."Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." It is the ultimate tragedy when a believer loses hope because it means that they have lost faith, they have let go of the one thing to which they should have held onto with all their might, the only thing that could save them. Psalm 119:114 tells us..."Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word." Jesus is our Hope, and we cannot take our eyes off of Him, we cannot allow the problems that we face, and the cares of this present world, to shift our focus from Him. Remember, Peter was able to walk upon the water only as long as his eyes were on Jesus. When the storm around him drew his attention away, he began to sink. Simply put, we cannot allow ourselves to lose sight of the fact that this life is not all that there is. Our reality need not be defined solely by what we can see, or hear, or feel. Our eternal destiny is dependent upon our looking beyond this temporal world. Paul tells us in Romans 5:2..."...we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." We have reason to rejoice, simply because we have the hope of heaven, through His grace we look forward to the fruition of His promises, of the home which He is preparing for us.
Paul goes on to say that we are to "glory in tribulations also", because "tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope." This is difficult to put into practice, but God expects us to have a certain immunity to the cares and problems of the world because our hope of glory should override any difficulties which we face in this life. Certainly, this is much easier said than done, but just as Paul so eloquently expresses, here, as well as in 2 Timothy 4, this is a process which we must endure, a race that we all must run, a course we must finish, in order to be found worthy of the crown which is laid up for us. We go through tribulations, which strengthen our patience. This leads to experience, which we can rely on to face future challenges, and when all of these factors come together, we have an innate sense of hope for the future. Hope is the end result of the trials we face. Tribulation leads to patience, which leads to experience, and finally, our end result is hope. Interestingly, when Paul tells us, in verse 3, that "tribulation worketh patience" the original Greek word used there is "dokimen", which means "he is approved that has passed the test." So, we see that the tribulations that we face are really nothing more than a test, which we must pass, and when we do, our patience is tested, and tried, which leads to experience, and our experiences lead us into a mindset of hope for the future. Paul concludes in verse 5 with a powerful statement..."And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Hope maketh not ashamed. What does Paul mean by this? The hope that we have in Jesus is not, and never will be, misplaced. We read in Proverbs 10:28..."The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish." We have an everlasting hope, and it will never deceive us, never disappoint us, never leave us wanting. It is a hope which is bolstered by the Holy Spirit, living in us and working through us, a living hope, which can never be extinguished.
Another aspect of hope is brought to light in Romans 8:24-25..."For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Hope is here linked with salvation, thereby establishing it as being on the same level with grace, and with faith. Therefore, its importance cannot be overstated. We MUST have hope. However, at the same time, we hope for something which we have not yet seen, and this forever links hope with faith. And if we, through faith, by grace, hope for that which we have not yet seen, we will patiently wait for it, because we know that God has promised it to us, and we believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We read in Lamentations 3:26..."It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord."
Though there are many verses referring to hope throughout the Bible, and countless instances in which hope is relied upon, and proven, we have but limited time here to expound upon it. To attempt to define all that faith, and hope, entail, would take more time and space than that which we are allowed. However, there is one final verse which beautifully summarizes what it means to have faith, and to have hope, and it is found in Hebrews 11:1, where we read..."Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." This verse, at first, seems rather cryptic in nature, not easily understood, and so, we must consider it carefully, dissect it, in order to fully grasp its meaning. "...faith is the substance of things hoped for..." we believe with every fiber of our being that God will do for us all that He has promised, as we read in 2 Timothy 1:12..."...I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." And our belief, our faith, and our hope are all interwoven, and work together to give us a kind of foretaste of glory. Jesus living in us, working through us, the indwelling of His Spirit, is the evidence of things not seen, our assurance of future glory, of a home not made with hands, where we will be with Him forever more.
Jesus has promised that He would never leave us, nor forsake us, and our belief in Him is the grounds for our hope.
Never Lose Hope.
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