Hope

Hope ...
I want us to think briefly about hope. Hope is a word found often in the Bible, and in fact one of my professors in Seminary wrote and taught that God is Hope; Hope pulling us toward Himself from His perfect future.

In Job 13:15, (The Message), we read, "Because even if he killed me, I'd keep on hoping. I'd defend my innocence to the very end." Job is saying that his own integrity of faith will speak to God even if he no longer has life. Jesus said things like, "your faith has made you whole." Job says he will still be hoping even if he has died. We can hope beyond the grave because the one who has promised us life eternal is dependable and always keeps His promises.

In Psalm 42:5, (The Message), we find one of my favorite passages, one I made into a little praise song. "Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God, (Put your hope in God NIV), soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He's my God." Putting our hope in God means fixing our eyes on Him. It means focusing our attention in the direction of our hope, not on the things of this life or on our own efforts, but on God! We must begin to train our minds to be remembering how dependent we are on God...we can't even take a breath without Him. Fix your gaze on Him and soon you'll be smiling again. He loves you and me, wants His best for us all, and He is actively working in our lives.
https://www.reverbnation.com/control_room/artist/5614294/songs#

When the storms of life wear us down, we can find rest because we hope in God. We read in Psalms 62:5, (NIV), "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him." Again this is because His promises stand.

In Psalms 119:74, (NIV), we see, "May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word." And in Psalm 130:5, (NIV), "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope." God's word is the final word.

Sometimes in life things happen to us that cause us to worry and to feel low, but God wants us to be full of His hope. In Romans 12:12, (NIV), Paul says, Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Our happiness is drawn from the source of hope, from God, that is why we are patient and turn to Him, faithful in prayer, because He alone holds the victory!

Finally Paul gives us a great benediction...a sending out. He says in Romans 15:13, (NIV), "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." My "hope" for all who read this is that you will realize that even beyond the grave, and long before we reach it, our hope is in the God of kept promises. May He indeed fill you with joy and peace, as you trust in Him. May hope be spilling out of us like a container too full, like a pot in the sink with water pouring into it so that it just continues to fall over the sides.

I researched a little on St. Valentine and found a story related to Him. It reminds me that part of how God brings hope to us through Jesus, is through those who serve Him. The following legend also speaks to the concept of Kingdom into which we have been looking recently.

Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they're expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural. One legend says, while awaiting his execution, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine." In the face of no hope, in fact a pending stoning and beheading, St. Valentine restored hope for another. He was already walking in the Kingdom of hope and headed to it as well.
Let us be clear that this hope can only be ours through Gods' Holy Spirit who was sent to us by and who is one with The Lord Jesus Christ.

Patrick Welch