Hope is a command, the promise of God, and a position in Him. Last week we look at the command to hope. This week we will enter in to the promise, and next week the position.
Hear God’s Word for you in Isaiah 49:23.
“Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
And Romans 12:12.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
The presence of the Holy Spirit lives in you, filling you with assurance that God cannot disappoint you. Be blessed with confidence that the sovereign Lord of your life is in charge of your circumstances. When expectation delays, when your hope is waiting without fulfillment, when disappointment tries to overwhelm you, you can have confidence in your Father, because you know that He is in control. He is Lord; He can’t get it wrong. When you are tempted with hopelessness, your Father says that those who wait for Him, those who hope in Him, will never be put to shame.
The psalmist said,
“One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving” (Psalm 62:11-12).
Your confidence in Him will never disappoint you, because He is strong and loving. Be blessed with security and safety because your hope is anchored in your Father’s unchanging love and strength.
Be blessed with the truth of Psalm 16:5-6.
“He is my portion… He maintains my lot.”
Your Father’s eyes are on those who hope. Be blessed to submit your soul to Him, because your soul will ask the wrong questions. The question is not “Why?” Be blessed with asking your Father the right question as your gaze is fixed on Him. The right question is “How?” Be blessed with knowing that He is your “how.” Be blessed with this dialogue with your soul. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I hope in Him!” (Lamentations 3:24).
God dwells with those who Hope in him, and He is enough. Your Father speaks hope to you, hope in Him that does not disappoint, because He dearly loves you. Be blessed in God’s promise that the desire He gives leads where He wants you to go: learning to endure, developing strength of character, in confident expectation of seeing the glory of His purposes for you and in His joy in hope. Jesus is your promised hope.
Receive the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1:18-21.
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when he raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given…”
You are seated in heavenly realms in hope, in the name of your glorious Father.
Be blessed in the name of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know your Promise of hope (Ephesians 1:17).
“The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.” Acts 13:17
Have you ever doubted God’s plan for your life?
Perhaps you felt confident about the route you believed God wanted you walk in. You stepped out in faith, but then some unexpected bumps along the road hit you. And now you’re confused.
Are you on the right track? Wouldn’t God make everything work out if he truly has this plan for you?
Throughout the Old Testament, we see God’s plan laid out piece by piece to bring the Israelites to the promised land. They couldn’t see it, but as readers of those historical events, we have the ability to see how God’s plan unfolded.
Joseph’s imprisonment in Egypt? For a greater purpose, to be uplifted and in charge in order to establish the Israeli nation, eventually. Joseph only knew part of God’s plan — he never saw the full plan.
The purpose of the difficult times along the journey to leaving Egypt? To encourage trust, trusting that God would provide even when it seemed like the Egyptians would overcome them, or when they thought that they would starve or die of thirst. God always came through. And the route along the journey was not easy either — it was full of hiccups. But God called them out, and they were doing as God had asked, with the exception of a few times when they made the journey longer and harder because of sin.
The same principle applies to our life. We may experience hardship doing the will of God, and that’s normal. We can’t always understand why we have to endure the pain along the way, but we can trust that those bumps along the way are for a greater purpose, known by God. We just can’t see it quite yet. So we trust.
Dear Lord, please help me to trust, to take the good and the bad, and to use negative experiences on the journey as ways to build my faith. Amen.
Remind yourself of God’s big picture, the Gospel, by reading Paul’s synopsis in Acts 13:16-41 of the route God created in order to bring Christ to us.
