Keep Hope Alive!

Have you lost your hope?

A lack of hope leads to depression. An antidote for depression is hope, but not hope in just anything, the hope found in Jesus Christ.

Hope is an essential and fundamental element in the Christian life. Jesus is the reason for our hope, not placing our hope in what we can get from life or others. While hoping for things is not wrong, it can be misplaced if we put all hope in the things we want and not in Jesus.

For in hope we have been saved, but the hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. Romans 8:24-25

Hope is synonymous with salvation and blessings that are promised in scripture. Christian Hope is the confident expectation and surety that what God has promised in the Word is true, has occurred, or will happen in the future. If we put our hope in anything other than the Lord we will be disappointed.

My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is in Him. Psalm 62:5

The hope of the righteous is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes. Proverbs 10:28

Hope is not a feeling or an emotion. Christian hope is different from the world, it is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). This means having a hope that is not moved by circumstances or what is seen.

Sometimes, we place our hope in everything except Jesus. We may have desires and wants that are unfulfilled, and we lose our hope.

If you have experienced one heartache or trial after another, it may be difficult to have hope. You may have heard the scripture, “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12. When dreams do not come to pass, depression can easily slip in. God’s time table is not ours, and our expectations of how we think He should fulfill our desires can make us have “heart sickness.” We can actually make things worse by holding on tightly to how we perceive our lives SHOULD turn out. What if God has a better plan for our lives, yet we are not even willing to entertain anything but what we want?

There was a time in my life I felt my heart was truly sick from waiting on my prayers to be answered. Maybe you have been praying for a prodigal child, a spouse, salvation for your family, or healing and you have lost hope. What if God has a plan that He is working on that you are not able to see, and perhaps it may look a little different than your expectations? I believe God’s plans are better than our plans.

We must learn to wait patiently on the Lord, and trust His ways.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25

Keep hope alive by believing in God’s promises not your circumstances.

The hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2, 3:7).

Hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8, Romans 8:24-25).

Hope laid up in heaven (Colossians 1:5).

Hope for the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).

The hope of the Gospel and the fulfillment of the promises in the Bible (Colossians 1:23).

The hope of His calling (Ephesians 1:18, 4:4).

Jesus our hope. (1 Timothy 1:1).

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we have hope for the resurrection (1 Peter 1:3, 1 Corinthians 15:12-20).

Where have you placed your hope? Is it time to place your hope in Christ alone?