A Hopeful Future

​HOPE.
 
A four-letter word that stirs the heart of every person who has walked on the earth.
 

• The Bible has a lot to say about hope.

 
For example, God’s chosen people were experiencing extremely challenging times.
 
An oppressive, culture crushing captivity clouded the sunshine of hope for God’s people. Hauled off in chains by the cruel Babylonians, the Israelites found themselves homeless, helpless and hopeless. It looked like the future held little hope for the people of God.
 
Enter Jeremiah with a word from the Lord. A timely, encouraging word about a hopeful future. 
 
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares, the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.”               Jeremiah 29:11
 
Speaking directly to the exiled Jews through His prophet Jeremiah, the Lord declared that He had a plan for His people that included prosperity and success. God’s plan excluded calamity and disaster while insuring them of a hopeful future.
 

• The message was clear and game changing: God was not finished with His people. There was hope for a new and better day.

 
Jeremiah’s hopeful words were just what the doctor ordered. First and foremost, the Jewish people needed reassured that there would be a future life for them. Down-trodden, destitute and desperate, they needed something to hope for, a hope-filled word to hold on to.  
 

• Judah needed a promise from God that would stimulate hope in their hearts. Hope for the future would help them hang in there until God delivered them from the Babylonians.

 
How about you? Do you see a hopeful future? Or is your future clouded with hopelessness? Do the daily headlines cause the flame of your hope to flicker? Do you need a fresh, bright ray of hope today?
 

• When I counsel with hurting people, the first thing they need is hope: sincere, genuine hope that God really cares and He can and will heal, restore and renew their lives.   

 

• When people feel hopeless, they begin to feel helpless.

 
Hopeless people often feel that God has forgotten them. As they sit on the ash heap of their personal misery, they think God does not have a plan for their lives. Loss of hope leads to discouragement, depression and despair. 
           

• Hopelessness and helplessness can tempt you and me to look to other sources for hope and help.

 
THINK ABOUT IT. Is your hope for provision based on a human handout, a benevolent bailout, or do you look to God’s hand to provide for your every need? Is your hope for protection, safety and security based on polished, politically correct rhetoric and governmental agencies?  Or do you trust in Almighty God to keep you secure and deliver you from all evil? How about your relationships? Is your hope and expectation of healthy, mutually satisfying relationships based on what man does, or what God can do in people’s hearts?
 

• People can cope when they have hope.

 
Christian hope is a “living hope” because of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead! (I Peter 1:3). Born-again believers possess the hope of hopes. Alive in Christ, Christians are destined for heaven! If you are seeking hope, seek the resurrected Savior. You and I are never without help when our hope is in God.
 

• A hopeless end or an endless hope…the choice is ours. 

           
Here are several ways you can have hope for your future.
 
Ø  Start your day by confessing your hope in Jesus Christ.
Ø  Saturate your mind and spirit with Gods’ hope-filled promises.
Ø  Stop listening to society’s hopeless doomsayers.
Ø  Surround yourself with hope inspiring people.
Ø  Believe that God causes all things, including challenging times like these, to work for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Ø  Remember God’s faithfulness to you and your family in the past.
Ø  Regularly thank God for the hope you have in His Son.
Ø  Expect God to do remarkable things in your life today!
 

• If your hope is fading, grab hold of the Gospel rope of hope and hold on!

 

• God’s plans are always good plans. His plans for a great future and a eternal hope include you.

 
My friend, focus your faith. Look up to the Lord. Hang your hope on Jesus Christ. Re-affirm your hope in Him. Expect God to fulfill His Word to give you a hopeful and prosperous future.
 

• Remember when God’s only Son, Jesus Christ was born in a manger in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, hope was born too!  

           
“To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”              Colossians 1:27
 
“The Lord is my portion says my soul. Therefore, I have hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.”                        Lamentations 3:24-25
 
“My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; my stronghold, I shall not be shaken.”                                       Psalm 62:5-6
 
“Why are you in despair, Oh my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me: Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”
                                                                                                                           Psalm 42:11
A Word For Your Week: Hope for today and the future is found in faith in Jesus Christ.