HOPE
I wrote this after reading 1st Peter. It’s a letter he wrote late in life to Christians living in a bad time. How did he have so much hope? Christians were being tortured in horrible ways for having faith in Jesus.
Hope gets a bad rap sometimes in our modern language. Let’s say I need to borrow $500 this month. You don’t really have it to spare but I convince you that I will absolutely pay you back before next month so you can pay your bills on time. You ask me after the 7th if I am going to pay and I say “absolutely”. You ask me on the 18th and I say “absolutely”. You ask me on the 28th and I say “I hope so”! You know you made a mistake. Seems hope has a double meaning. Be careful where your hope resides!
It’s not without reason that our God is referred to as the God of Hope throughout the bible. It is hope that is intertwined who we are as Christians. It sustains us, makes us joyful in good times and is our life preserver when times are bad. But what is it?
Hope is the confident expectation that things will be better. For Christians our hope centers on a future with God. Not just being there where God is but connected with God and able to share without holding anything back. That hope is in the future but tremendous rewards are given in the present for those with hope.
Everybody wants hope. Millions are spent each year as major corporations search for ways to give their employees hope. They call it “optimism”. You can call it faith, hope or optimism but it is still the same. It has been proven over and over that optimistic people work harder, are happier, and are healthier, more generous and smarter. You know this is true. Whenever you compare someone who can’t but thinks he can to someone that can but thinks he can’t, hopeful people win every time. Seems like hope is a gas gauge for the soul. People with plenty of hope are anxious to take on new task, work harder and want to things completed so they can tackle something new. People with hope have a peace that passes all understanding. Hope is the fire we have to keep burning in our lives.
No reason for a Christian to not be overflowing with hope. So what keeps us from bubbling over? It’s an enemy as old as time itself. He fell from Heaven like lightning before time began. He was there in the garden. He is still here and full of lies. He is Satan. He is always at your elbow. He can be well dressed and charming. He looks good in heels or blue jeans when it fits his purpose. If you are not working for God you will be working for Satan. His retirement plan stinks!
While our God is all about the future Satan is all about your past. God says I have cleaned you and made you new. Satan says you have done bad things and don’t deserve a good future. We know all too well the mistakes of our past. They haunt us without any help but Satan has plenty of help.
Who would help Satan? Sad answer is most of your friends and you and me. It might not be recognized at first glance but it’s there. You will see it as soon as a person starts to excel. We don’t like to be outdone so we help the Devil by pulling up someone’s past. No matter what they do we won’t let them escape their mistakes. Maybe we do it to make our mistakes look smaller but we do it. Peter tells us to be a student, not a critic. Students learn
So how do we get hope. If you are a Christian you have hope. But we want more. We want our hope tanks full and running over. Number 1 best way I found is to study the 4 stories of Jesus life. It’s the first 4 books of the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Not just a glance but a study. The jewels are so numerous you will find new ones every time you look. Small details that bring understanding. Never stop learning. Without knowledge you can never have hope. With knowledge of God you can’t help but have hope!
The next way is to put God’s plan into action. God says just test me and you will know I am real and you will be filled with hope. Hope is faith and our Bible says without works faith is dead. God is all about freedom, he will give you opportunity to serve him over and over. You get to decide how to serve. No wrong choices here. Jesus brought it out over and over in his parables that the faithful servant will be busy doing the will of God.
Be ready for Satan when you start. He hates faith, hope, love and anything that connects you with God. If your faith is in God then Satan has lost. If your faith is in yourself he has won. Satan will attack you when your hope is at its lowest point. Every time!
Maybe you have seen a glow stick before. They started out as toys for children but now they are much more. In an emergency they can be used for rescue or a safety marker on a kid’s bike. You will see them on Halloween so drivers can spot the trick or treaters. But they have been used by our military for several years in combat. The military version is infrared. Not visible to the eye without night vision. Our troops are the only ones that can see them. In a firefight at night they can spot friendly troops.
So what are the directions on the glow stick? They have to be broken to shine. Same directions work for Christians. We were broken and now we can shine! A believer filled with the knowledge of God will be filled with hope and shine for all to see!
2016 years ago you were given a present. You should have received by now. Maybe you have never opened your present or maybe you opened it but set it aside for later. Open and enjoy the best present ever given this year.