On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
- 2 Corinthians 1:10
HOPE...
... It is a powerful word. It is an even more powerful presence.
Definitions of the word fall short. Dictionaries rob hope of it's depth and capacity; of its ability to sustain, to empower.
The hope I am trying to convey is more than a whim or emotional attachment. "I hope the Chiefs win today." (Which I do... and they will...) The hope of faith - biblical hope - is more.
So now these three remain: faith, hope and love. - 1 Corinthians 13:13
The hope of the Bible is a forever hope. It is an overcoming hope. It is these, because this hope is focused hope. Completely independently of my reading in 1 Corinthians this morning, a four year old blog post of mine entitled FOCUS popped up in Facebook.
In difficult times, our focus makes all the difference. And it is our choice. Will we focus on ourselves? Our circumstances? Or will we choose to focus on the One who is at work in the midst of every circumstance to produce in us what he desires? The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, "…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…" (Hebrews 12:1-2).
We need to know a few things: (And not just "know" with our heads; but unshakably hold in our hearts.)
1) God is at work in our lives:
Paul writes "…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…" (Philippians 1:6). God does not grow tired. His patience is incredible. He is invested in us. (Just look at a cross - that invested).
2) God always fulfills his promises:
"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him…" (Deuteronomy 7:9).
3) God's timing and our timing are based on different perspectives:
In short, he sees all. He knows all. We don't. He is infinite. We are not. Through the prophet Isaiah God says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts," (Isaiah 55:8-9).
(Back to the present)
We have heard it said, "God will never give us more than we can handle." Well, that's crap. Paul states: For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength... (1 Cor 1:8). We don't have to hope when we know we can handle it. We don't have to rely. He goes on to write: But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us... and he will deliver us again. (vv.9-10)
There it is! There is HOPE! God saw me through the valley of the shadow... And he will do it again! I was weak. He was strong. I AM weak. He IS strong. And he will deliver me.
On that... on HIM
I CAN HOPE!
Paul goes on to write that when we hope, and are stretched; when we almost break, and yet persevere - by leaning, by relying, something happens within us. We find comfort. We find faith. We become conduits of hope for others.
(back to the old post)
In the midst of trial, God is at work.
When the promise seems so long ago and so hopeless, God hasn't forgotten.
When the circumstances are overwhelming, the One who calmed the storm can do the same IN you.
God has not forgotten us. His word has never failed. He is intimately at work, forming our hearts to be more like Jesus.
Easy? No. Comfortable? Nope.
But good!
HOPE!
God, My hope is built on nothing less... than You.
For now...
D
