Hope is something everyone has experienced some time in their life; even if it were only for a bicycle for their birthday!  Hope is a part of life.  Life without hope results in desperation and even depression. Without hope a person feels they have no part in the decisions for their life. Do you have hope? The dictionary defines hope as a desire with expectation of fulfillment, so, from that we understand that hope begins with a desire.  What is your desire for your life? What do you base your hope on? Is it your job? Your family? Your money? Where you live? Let me assure you that all those things are temporal and will fade away in time.  All those things have the potential of failing you.  There is only one hope that is secure and unfailing and that is the hope we have in Jesus, the Son of God.

What does this hope in Jesus do for us?  Well, according to Psalm 27:24 and 31:24, this hope in Jesus, makes us strong and gives us courage. We need courage to live righteously in this world.  Also, as we hope in God, it puts us in the position to receive His mercy (Psalm 33:22) We also need His mercy when we falter.

As I mention above, without hope our heart feels despair, and our mind is restless and disturbed by the world around us.  BUT, hope in God brings a happiness to our countenance. (Psalm 43:5 and 146:5) Without hope people tend to walk after their own devices, schemes, and imaginations of the evilness of their heart. (Jeremiah 18:12) It’s like we become prisoners of our own dismay (loss of courage and resolution). The antidote to that according to Zechariah 9:12 is to return to the stronghold of security and prosperity of the Lord.

Hope is one of the three things listed in First Corinthians 15:19 that abides: faith, hope, and charity.  Faith is trust in God and His promises; hope is expectation of those promises in our lives; and charity is the love of God in our heart; love being the greatest.  I submit to you then, that with God’s love in our heart, our hope rises in faith to trust in His unchanging promises, and therefore gives us an expected hope for our future.  (Jeremiah 29:11) Keep your hope in God who is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  (1 Corinthians 1:9)

Psalm 27:24   Hope in the Lord! Be strong! Let your heart take courage! Hope in the Lord!

Psalm 31:24   Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the Lord.

Psalm 33:22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

Psalm 43:5   Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become restless and disturbed within me?  Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.

Psalm 130:5   I wait (patiently) for the Lord, my soul (expectantly) waits, and in His word do I hope.