THE GIFT OF HOPE

“Remember the word to Your servant, upon which YOU HAVE CAUSED ME TO HOPE” – Psalm 119:49

One of God’s most precious gifts to His children is the GIFT of HOPE: “Remember the word to Your servant, upon which YOU HAVE CAUSED ME TO HOPE” (Psa.119:49). Hope is a gift that God intends us to unwrap, by the power of His Spirit, in times of trouble, difficulty, heartache, or uncertainty. Hope lightens our burden and helps us envision a brighter future. God values Hope to such a great degree that it made the top three list of what I call the Triangle of Christianity: “And now abide FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, these three” (1Cor.13:13a). Faith, Hope, and Love will continue on into eternity, long after every spiritual gift has passed. They never end. Faith is what makes it possible for us to come into a relationship with God. Hope is the conviction that God’s promises are true and good. Hope never ends either. And Love brings it all together. 

God is Love (1Jh.4:8). Our Faith and Hope in God leads us to His love eternal. For eternity we will be loved by God and we will love Him. Meanwhile, we are to abide in Hope, receiving it as a blessing that remains when so many other good things have fallen away. Our present world is generally devoid of Hope. As we watch consistently depressing news stories, bombarded daily with scenes of mass shootings, violence, and poverty, and drive through run-down neighbourhoods, we wonder: “What can be done? Is a better way even possible?” Yet, it's not just what's going on around us that make us feel dejected. Personal experiences of betrayal, disappointment, rejection, or broken promises also lead to inner hopelessness.

True, there are real reasons to feel hopeless, but as we examine these, we should turn them over to God, and accept in exchange His Gift of Hope that’s found in His Word – the Scriptures. As we unwrap this Gift, live in it, grow in it, and rejoice in it, we’ll discover again and again, that Hope does not disappoint: “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom.5:5). We can always rely on God during the times when we need Hope: “This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your Word has given me life” (Psa.119:50).

God’s Word is our Source of Hope: “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures MIGHT HAVE HOPE” (Rom.15:4). God uses the Bible to speak Hope into our lives so that we can share it with others: “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” (Rom.15:13). God gives us Hope to transform us into Envoys and Emissaries of His Hope. When we fill a cup with more water than it can hold, the water quickly rises to the top and overflows. The same thing happens to us when we allow God to fill our lives with Hope; it overflows and spills over into the lives of the people around us. Hope is one of the best gifts we can give.

When the promises of God become our focus, Hope rises to fill our hearts and affect those around us. The very best gift we can give to others who may be lacking hope is to allow what we have received to overflow into their lives. Perhaps there is someone we care about who is going through a famine of Hope, and are ready to give up. Let’s begin by praying for anyone we know that needs Hope around us, asking God to encourage them and bring then Hope and Joy. Then, we can reach out to such people with this Message of Hope; a phone call or a text message of encouragement. If they can’t find hope on their own, let’s be kind enough to share with them from the Hope the Lord has given us. It may be our best gift ever!