HOPE

I had this word on my heart a lot lately...hope.

My dad used to talk about hope a lot. He used to say that we don't understand the real meaning. That we use the term too casually. Like, 'I sure hope that I win the lottery.'

We hope for things that we really don't believe will ever happen.

But if we look at this word in scripture it isnt a 'hope for the uncertain', rather hope is a certainty, it is faith. Waiting on our Savior to fulfill what He has promised.

I stumbled upon these verses on one of the blogs I check - (and you all know how I LOVE to see God's hand at work - showing me these verses just at the time that I was really pondering the word Hope!)

Romans 8:24-25

For in this HOPE we are saved.

(I love this...we are saved in hope...in hope that He is coming back to fulfill His promises and make us whole.)

But HOPE that is seen is no HOPE at all.

Who HOPES for what they already have?

(And I love this, kind of sarcastic...duh! Who hopes for something they already have? No, we must hope for what we dont know or understand. That is faith...We hope for Him to complete His work and then we will understand)

But if we HOPE for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

(ahhh, waiting patiently...not my strong point. But I'm getting better at it...old age will do that to you. This may be why God put the word on my heart...wait PATIENTLY. That word doesn't describe me!)

Psalm 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in HOPE. (Resting in His hope. Also not my strong point...but He is asking me to rest. To rely. To trust in Him. To HOPE...that His promises are true, real, living and coming.)

Titus 2:13

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

(Can you read that verse and not feel your heart start beating faster? I can't! To me that is Hope. A hope worth being patient for. Looking to the sky and knowing that my Savior is coming back for me from those clouds. That is awesome in a nutshell.)

These verses were good for my heart. A reminder that Hope is not me crossing my fingers and pacing and 'hoping' that things are going to turn around for good.

Nope. Hope is me putting my trust in Him. And resting. SURE that things are going to go for His good.

Resting assurance. That is my definition of HOPE.