Hopeful

For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing.


He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be.


Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance,  endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.  

This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.

When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face.
Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.
Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.
But the greatest of these is love.

-Acts 27:20, Romans 4:18, 5:1-5; 1 Corinthians 13:11-13

I was thinking about hope.  We have hope.  Hope in God and hope in Christ.  And the Spirit of God is a hopeful person.

In Paul's sea adventure story, he recalls a point where, 'all hope was lost'.  Hope was disappearing.  Chances of surviving were running out.  But the end of the story was that everybody survived.

Another story about hope is told in Romans, about Abraham.  He kept waiting for his promise to manifest.  He hoped for it, even when hope was running out.

In the next chapter of Romans, we learn that we become hopeful people through enduring suffering.  The Christian life is about becoming like Christ, as we suffer, learn to love and live from God's provision.

In 1 Corinthians, there is this idea that hope, along with faith and love, will go on; after the second coming.  Out of everything in the Christian life that we get to participate in on earth now, we get to continue experiencing faith, hope, and love.  There will not need to be any more prophecies, because we will be living in fulfillment.

Hope is a continuous, ongoing experience in our lives.  We hope and hope sometimes seems like it is running out and hopes are often fulfilled.  Hope that goes on a long time, without being fulfilled, can give us serious heartache.  

We need to be on-guard to not get bitter.  Disappointment always is the time of 'His appointment'.  We must learn to lament our disappointments and grieve or losses.

Hopes die and losses happen.  But God always has new hope for us.  God has a 'plan b' when things do not work out.

New hope is renewed hope in God.  God is the God of death and resurrection.  Don't be afraid of failure or a hopeless situation, because God resurrects dead things and brings new life where there has been death.

And the Spirit of God is the wisest and most optimistic person in your life, as well as Jesus number one supporter.

Hopeless means God has something for you, a gift or a compensation that is hidden in your trial.  Hopeless means that God has a 'plan b' or a resurrection of dead things.  Hopeless means the gift of having special fellowship with Jesus that you might have missed out on, if you had unlimited success.

If you are hopeless, God has something in store for you.  Let hope be refurbished in your heart and out into your life through the grace of God.  Be hopeful again