WALK IN HOPE

“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” – Romans 15:13

To walk in perfection is to WALK IN HOPE: “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). Amen…to this Prayer of Hope! Ordinarily, hope means: “to want something to happen or to be true.” For Believers, hope transcends wishing: It has the quality of expectancy, which is closely allied to faith. Hope looks forward with a confident expectation of something that will come to pass or will be shown to be true, God having revealed or promised it. Hope is based on the Person of the Lord Jesus, fuelled by the integrity of His Word, to assure us of “a future and a hope” (Jer.29:11).

Christianity is a Walk of Faith with God, but HOPE is fundamental to our faith: “faith is the substance of things hoped for…” (Heb.11:1a). Without Hope, the walk of faith will falter, and storms of temptations can cause the pilgrim to wander away. Without hope, despair sets it. The God of Hope designed for us to “abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom.15:13b). Verse 4 reveals how: “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have HOPE.”

Ours is “a Living Hope” based on the Living Word (1Pet.1:3). Scriptures are meant to equip you to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Pet.3:15). Recalling God’s powerful promises gives you reasons to believe, trust, and hope: “This I call to mind, therefore I HAVE HOPE…” (Lam.3:21-23).

Ours is a Sure and Steadfast Hope: “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” (Heb.6:19). Jesus is our True Hope – our Anchor of security and rest in the world’s stormy seas. We can have confidence in our walk of hope, anchored in Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2). We WALK IN HOPE because we are IN CHRIST. To continually experience hope and have joy and peace, regardless of circumstance, we must cling to Him.

Norman Vincent Peale wrote on the Stupendous Power of Hope: “Have you ever stopped to wonder what it is that keeps you going from one day to another? What lies behind your ability to fight your way through periods of discouragement or depression? What makes you believe that sooner or later bad times will get better? It’s a little, four-letter word that has enormous power in it: Power to bring failures back to success; power to bring the sick back to health; power to bring the weak back to strength. It’s HOPE”!

David constantly reminded himself that HOPE is REAL, however daunting life’s challenges may be:

• “And now, LORD, what do I wait for? MY HOPE IS IN YOU” (Psa.39:7)

• “Why are you cast down, O my soul?... HOPE IN GOD; for I shall yet praise Him…” (Psa.42:11)

• “Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope” (Psa.119:49).

“Now HOPE does not disappoint…” (Rom.5:5). When you’re faced with a challenge, do you respond with hope, or with despondency? When you hope for a solution in God, you are likely going to find it. If you think dismally, you’re likely to come up with dismal results. Hope clears the mind! “Rejoice in hope…” (Rom.12:12a). Inject Hope into every forlorn situation. Never write off anything as impossible or as a failure! Never lose hope!

While “waiting for our Blessed Hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Tit.2:13), let’s Walk in Hope: that tough times will pass and not last; that storms will cease; that dark nights of weeping will bow to glorious dawns of joy; that pain will not endure; that weakness will be overcome; and that God will come through for us!