What is hope?
I know this is a loaded question, but if I’m honest, it’s hard for me to answer. I could say something I know to be true like, “God is hope” or “my hope comes from the Lord”, but what does that really mean? I think Psalm 62 may help us.
Psalm 62:5-8, The Message:
God, the one and only—
I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I hope for comes from him,
so why not?
He’s a solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle;
I’m set for life.
My help and glory are in God
—granite-strength and safe-harbor-God—
So trust him absolutely, people;
lay your lives on the line for him.
God is a safe place to be.
I think the word “hope” gets thrown around so much nowadays, that when we hear it, it doesn’t hold much weight. But if we really stop to think about it, hope is a very weighty word. It’s the foundation of who God is. Who Jesus is.
Hope is waiting patiently for God, no matter how long it takes. I’ll wait as long as he says. It means trusting that he’s got us and will keep us safe—an impregnable castle. It means laying our lives on the line for him because he is our safe place. We hope because we trust that he’s going to do what he says he will. He’s kept his word throughout history, and he won’t stop now.
Christmas is a reminder of why we hope. Jesus came into this world to show us what hope is—that God did what he said he would.
Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope! -Romans 15:13, The Message
- Bethany Powell