HOPE AS GOD’S GIFT

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

In order to receive and enjoy Divine Help, we need to acknowledge HOPE as GOD’S GIFT: “Remember the WORD to Your servant, upon which YOU HAVE CAUSED ME TO HOPE” (Psa.119:49). Hope is one of God’s most precious gifts to His children; one that He intends us to unwrap by the power of His Spirit, to overcome in times of troubles and seasons of stress. Hope lightens our burden and helps us envision a brighter future. Hope is one of the three Cornerstones of Christianity: “And now abide FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, these three” (1Cor.13:13a). These three are eternal. In particular, Hope is the conviction that God’s promises are true, good, and that they’ll be fulfilled.  

While walking in Faith and Love, we are also to stand in Hope, embracing it as a blessing and virtue that remains when other things might have fallen away. The contemporary world is generally devoid of Hope. There is consistent, unrelenting bombardment of bad and depressing news all over – pervading poverty, corruption, depravity, kidnapping, run-down communities, and violence. Moreover, personal experiences of betrayal, disappointment, rejection, and broken promises lead to inner hopelessness. There are real reasons to feel hopeless, but as we examine and turn these over to God, we can accept in exchange His Gift of Hope as 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 in God never disappoints: “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 no matter the severity of the times. 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, transforming us into Envoys and Emissaries of Hope and Help.

When we make God’s promises our focus, Hope rises to fill our hearts and lives, and overflow into the lives of others around us. Hope is one of the best gifts we can receive and give. Let’s begin to pray for those we care about who may be going through a famine of Hope and are ready to give up, asking the Lord to bring them Hope, Help, and Joy. Then, we can follow-up with the Message of Hope, a phone call or an encouraging text message. From the Gift of Hope that supplies comfort, we should be kind enough to share with those who may not be able to find Hope, as the Gift of Life that supplies comfort: "This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your WORD has given me life” (v.50).