15 Minute Challenge, Day 12

Day 12: have hope

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22)

There are times in life when I feel like I am finally heading on a sunny path. There is a cool breeze, everything around me is beautiful and shinning, then something pops up that has the ability to take all the joy and sunshine out of my life. have you ever been there? It’s kinda like spring in Southern California, a gorgeous day suddenly becomes overcast and grey… I am there today. It feels as though I have suddenly been thrown into a storm and can no longer see the sunlight. This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, and I am confident you can understand this feeling. The difference about today is that I know there will be an end. I have hope, and I am more confident than ever that I will not wade this storm alone. The simple truth is I know God has my back.

Are you there right now? If you are, can you be 100% certain that God is holding your hand and steering your course through your storm? Where is your hope today?

Dictionary.com lists the following as one of the definitions for hopeWhen I look at the secular definition, I’m not incredibly inspired, there is so much left unsaid about the power is this little word. When I hope, I don’t want to face something with “reasonable confidence” I want to know the outcome of my faith and my belief is truly going to be worth wading through the turmoil and pain that life can sometimes put us through.

to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence

J. Hampton Keathley, III did a study on hope, he reports the following: a little more inclinded to be hopeful when God is added to the equation. There are terrible things that happen in life. there will be times when the wind is knocked out of me, there have been, and there will come another time when I am uncertain of my ability to make it through the day. I can however, be motivated to get out of bed  knowing that I can have a “strong and confident expectation” that God will see me through!

In Scripture, according to the Hebrew and Greek words translated by the word “hope” and according to the biblical usage, hope is an indication of certainty. “Hope” in Scripture means “a strong and confident expectation.” Though archaic today in modern terms, hope is akin to trust and a confident expectation.

Hope may refer to the activity of hoping, or to the object hoped for—the content of one’s hope. By its very nature, hope stresses two things: (a) futurity, and (b) invisibility. It deals with things we can’t see or haven’t received or both.

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We cannot make it alone in this life. we will not be able to survive the hardships alone, but we can hope that the outcome will strengthen us. We can rest in the assurance our faith in the living God will carry us through the darkest of hours. The psalmist writes “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”

So take courage my friend, and have hope. Our heavenly Father is with you, and no matter how dark the circumstance or how great the pain, know that He loves us! He has moved men and nations so that we may see how very much He loves us! He will never fail you or me, for we are His greatest joy! We are precious to Him, and He loves us. Life is hard, but by the divine providence of our heavenly Father, we will be comforted.

So have hope. That is the challenge today. Know how He loves us, and have hope!