Hope
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may
abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost (Rom. 15:13.)”
How is it that we can so often fret or frown?
Are we allowing the Holy Ghost to work in our lives?
As human beings, men and women are certainly subject to occasions or
episodes of doubt and despair due to life’s circumstances.
Family, friends, finances, home, work, health, and
death of love ones - all are areas which
present challenges that can have either positive or negative effects on our
personal well-being.
Prolonged
storms and life challenges can lead many in the land to acts of what has been termed
as “self-medication” through the flesh.
Even worse, some acts of desperation may result in ultimate imprisonment
or even loss of life itself.
How
sad that at some point hope was lost (or, quite possibly, was not ever present).
We all need hope to invigorate and empower us toward positive, productive,
forward moving lives.
For some,
their hope may lie in the love and comfort of family.
For others, it may be their position, profession, or possibly monetary
stability or wealth.
The Christian,
however, is to develop to a point where God the Father is their mainstay in
every and all life situations.
Thus, in times when we are pressed, we are to allow our faith in Jesus
Christ to be paramount.
As the
psalmist states:
“Why
art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou
in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my
God (Ps. 42:11).”
Hoping in God yields the most healthy and precise perspective, disposition, and outlook. Notice also the last words of the above verse stating that he is “my God”. That is, he is our helper, provider, and deliverer in every and all situations - our "rock" and "fortress", "high tower" and "shield" (II Sam. 22:2-3; Ps. 91:2). He is our sufficiency in every way (II Cor. 3:5). We most certainly cannot be overtaken when remembering to dwell in this type of hope (Jn. 10:29). Negativity simply doesn’t have opportunity to take root in such a mindset. Only when we remove our “helmet,” can doubts begin to fly and darts pierce the soul. Remember, that the helmet is metaphorically termed as the “hope of salvation” (I Th. 5:8).
Do we trust and rely on God?
Do we really live as if He is ever faithful and with us always (Heb.13:5)?
When we are kept in this fashion, it actually matters little what the
circumstances are because our very soul is steadfastly committed and dependent only on God.
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil (Heb. 6:19);"