Hope

A Devotional By

Pastor Bobby

Have you ever felt completely hopeless? Like no matter what happens, you will never be happy? I know this sounds like the beginning of a very negative devotional, but I bring this up because I have been there. When I was growing up, I thought there was no hope for my life.

​ You see, when I was born, there were birth complications. My umbilical cord was wrapped around my throat, causing me to go for a period of time without air. Because of this, I was unable to hear for the first couple of years of my life, which led to a speech impediment. Growing up, since I sounded different, I got picked on a lot.

​I have been tied to a tree while people beat me with a piece of wood with a nail in it. I have been held down while kids rammed a football helmet into my stomach. I've had kids break my bike, and so on. It definitely wasn't all bad—I had a family that loved and cared for me—but in my kid mind, I felt like no one loved me and that I was worthless. I felt that I didn't have any hope, and I felt that way for a long time.

​I know that I am not the only one who has felt that way. In truth, I believe most people feel that way at some point, but they try to find hope in all the wrong things—stuff like money, power, a beautiful spouse, and so on. But none of that will ever help you find true hope.

​I am here to tell you that the only true hope you can find is if you put your hope in Jesus Christ. I know that some of you who have been Christians for a long time might be saying to yourself, “This is too low of a level for me to learn anything from.” To that, I would argue two things. First, going back to the basics is necessary in anything in life. If you were an athlete, you would always go back to the basics. It is the exact same way for a Christian. Second, are you truly living out the hope you have through Jesus Christ? If not, then you need to go back to the basics.

​So, let's take a minute and look at what hope means. Dictionary.com defines it as "a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen," or "a feeling of trust." But this is what Pastor John Piper says biblical hope is: ​"In the Bible, hope is a confident, certain expectation of what God has promised. Unlike everyday speech, which treats hope as a mere wish or guess, biblical hope is a secure assurance rooted in God’s unchanging character and past faithfulness." ​From this definition, hope is so much more than a feeling. It is a guarantee that God will fulfill His promises, because God is the same today as He was yesterday, and God will always take care of His people.

​Isaiah 41:10 (ESV) "[10] fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

​This was written and spoken to the Israelites about what their future held. Even when God was warning them about their upcoming discipline, He still promised them that He was with them. He was then, and He still is now. God always keeps His promises, which is exactly why we can anchor our hope in Him.

​Furthermore, there are so many more promises and verses where we can find hope because God and Jesus are faithful—even when we are not. Let's look at three other verses.

​John 3:16 has to be one of the most quoted verses ever; even non-believers probably know it or parts of it. But John 3:16 and the verses following it can give someone so much encouragement to put their hope in Christ.

​John 3:16-18 (ESV) "[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." ​Now, at first glance, you might say to yourself, “How is this a passage of hope?” I believe this is nothing but hope. We have a God who loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. All we need to do is believe and put our hope in Him. Anyone who believes in Jesus will be saved from sin, death, and the evil one.

​Next, let's look at Romans 8.​Romans 8:28, 38-39 (ESV)"[28] And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [...] [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." ​Paul gives us three verses in chapter 8 that beautifully showcase hope. First is the promise that everything will work together for good. That doesn't mean it's going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time, but God will make everything go according to His plan and will. We can have hope that God will use all of our hardships for His good.

​This reminds me of the story of Jim Elliot. He was a missionary who went to share Christ with a tribe in Ecuador, and they killed him. You might ask yourself, “Where is the hope and good in that?” Yet, God absolutely used that act for His good. After his death, Elliot's wife went to that very same tribe and told them about Christ, and they gave their lives to Him. That is the kind of hope we can find in that verse.

​Then, in the second part of the Romans passage, Paul tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Once we truly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, nothing can tear us away from His love. The hard truth is that as humans, we will mess up—probably on a daily basis. But Jesus still loves us, no matter how much we stumble. There is so much hope in that. Jesus loves us!

​In closing, I want to leave you with this: We do not have to be like the rest of the world, living a life devoid of hope. We have ultimate, unshakeable hope through Jesus Christ.

​Now, let's start living like it.