How to receive the gift of Hope!
It’s been said that man can live 4 weeks without food; 4 days without water; 4 minutes without air; but we can’t live 4 seconds without hope!
Hope is like having a dream that you believe will come to pass; expecting a promise from God to come to pass. To have hope is to know that things are going to get better no matter how they may look right now.
Romans 5:5 says, “Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 5:5) If hope does not disappoint, then why are so many people disappointed? They’ve lost hope.
Besides what we see in the news, our personal concerns about the future, our finances, our children, job security, and relationships can leave us feeling hopeless. Maybe you’ve lost hope about something in your life, or know someone who has.
Who hasn’t asked the question at one time or another: Is there any hope? Is there any hope that things will turn around? Is there any hope that life will get better? Is there any hope that your dream will come true? The answer is a resounding, YES!
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to GIVE you a future and a hope.” Your future and your hope are GIFTS from God, that no one can take away! Do you see that? HOPE IS A GIFT! All you have to do is receive it and you can walk in divine hope every day. Here’s how:
#1: Look to the God of hope. Romans 15:13 says, “NOW the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through believing that you may abound in hope.” God is the God of hope, NOW. Remember when God introduced Himself to Moses and said, “Tell Pharoah to let my people go.” And Moses asked, “Who shall I say you are?” Aren’t you glad God didn’t say, “Tell pharaoh I am the great I WAS. Or the great, “ I Will BE One Day.” No, God said, “I am the great I AM.” He is the God in your present. He IS NOW the God of hope.
#2: Look UP, rather than OUT at your situation. When you look around at your circumstances and limitations, it can often be discouraging and disappointing. But when you look UP and look to Him, at His possibilities, hope comes. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.
#3: Look at how God does things. God takes us from the Old Testament to the New Testament, from the law to grace, from sin to righteousness, from sickness to healing, from fear to love, from defeat to victory. “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, it gets BRIGHTER & BRIGHTER until the full day.” (Proverbs 4:13) He never takes us from good to bad; He always takes us from good to great. When your hope is in God and His Word, things will always get BETTER and BETTER.
#4: Keep expecting God’s blessing & favor. That no matter how bad it looks— you can walk through every situation in life knowing there’s a blessing in it somewhere. In the midst of your sickness is healing, in the midst of your mess is a message, in the midst of your test is a testimony. Your calling is in the midst of your conquering. Look at Joseph in the Bible—there was no hope left for him, except what God had promised him; except the dream God had given. No matter how low life took him, as He looked to God, he went from the pit to Potipher’s house; from the prison to the Palace. And so will you!
There is always hope. Receive it as a gift from God today; and when you do, everything is going to be all right!