OVERCOME HOPE’S FOES

“HE WHO OVERCOMES, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more” – Revelation 3:12a

Maximising Destiny demands that we OVERCOME HOPE’S FOES: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name” (Rev.3:12). Believers called to an Overcoming Life: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1Jh.5:4). We were not designed to quit on life: “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk.9:62b). God empowers us to withstand and overcome all Foes of Hope.

The Bible offers Living Hope for our lives now – and forever! But we face formidable foes along the way. We need to be familiar with the enemies or foes of Hope and strategies for combating and overcoming them. A keen observation of world events indicates that the state of the world today looks dismal and hopeless. The lives of many individuals and families are overwhelmed with feelings of hopelessness. But we know that the Almighty God – the God of Hope – truly loves us and offers us real hope. Hope in Christ is not just a fuzzy feeling, but tangible equipment for Christian maturity and productivity.

The Bible offers insight into the enemies or Foes of Hope, three of which are: Fear, Negativity; and Trust in Man.

FEAR is Hope’s Number One foe. Fear is the opposite of Faith; which is the substance of things HOPED for (Heb.11:1). Therefore, fear hinders Hope. Everyone experiences fear in their life. There are big fears we are very aware of and little ones we may not even realize we have. Whether the big, intimidating fears or the seemingly little ones, no fear should be trivialised. Every fear can be fatal! It’s vital to understand what fear is and how it works against us, because if we don't, it can hinder Hope; keep us from becoming what God created us to be and from fulfilling God’s purposes in our lives. God wants us to be strong in Hope; Satan wants us to walk in fear and wallow in hopelessness. We must not allow fear to rule our lives.

NEGATIVITY – focusing on the negative – weakens Hope. Scriptures consistently warn about the dangers of grumbling and complaining: “And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel” (1 Cor.10:10). Complaining and focusing on the negative often result in a downward spiral of forgetting God’s blessings in our lives and attracting more negativism from those around us. As by the Grace of God, we shall learn in more detail in a few days from now, Philippians 4: 6-8 provides the antidote to this hope-destroyer: cultivating attitudes of gratitude and positivity.

CARNALTRUST – confidence in MAN instead of GOD breeds frustration, disappointment, and regret. If we look to political, business, educational, and religious leaders or friends and family as the ones we pin our hopes on, we will be disappointed. Jeremiah 17 presents a powerful: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD’” (v. 5). The next verse explains that those who trust in man are like plants trying to grow in parched desert lands. On the other hand, “blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose HOPE is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” (vv. 7-8).

Without God, there is no hope. But with Him we have a solid hope that fear, negativity, and trust in man cannot destroy!