We continued in our study of hope this past week, this truth becoming more and more evident each day …

Hope rises up in our souls as we remember hope comes from God.

This second week of looking more closely at “hope” brought the following observations:

1. Hope resides IN us. “We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently” (Romans 8:24-25, NLT). Jesus Christ is our hope. Hope is found in Jesus and when we have Him in our lives, we have hope. We wait expectantly, much like in the Advent season we just came through. We wait expectantly for our Hope will come!
2. Hope waits quietly. “So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord” (Lamentations 3:26, NLT). The New American Commentary states that one of the qualities of genuine faith is the ability to “confidently and without complaint wait for God’s help”. When we are not quiet, when we are complaining, then … we are not confident in God and have placed our hope in someone or someplace else. May God help us to keep our hope placed in Him as we wait quietly upon Him.
3. Fear reminds us God is our hope. “Lord, don’t terrorize me! You alone are my hope in the day of disaster” (Jeremiah 17:17, NLT). Our fears and emotions can be very much like a roller coaster ride, taking us up and down. In laying our thoughts and fears transparently before God, we are brought to the realization God is our help, our refuge, our safety.
4. Hope will not disappoint. “And this hope will not lead us to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:5, NLT). Hope does not disappoint us because our hope lies in God and His promises and then He sealed those promises with His love. This is our blessed assurance.
5. Hope will rise up. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12, NLT). We all have hopes, goals, or aspirations of some sort or another. When they are delayed in coming, or take a long time in coming, we can be disappointed or even depressed over the wait. The author of Proverbs is reminding us to remember hope – just like a tree that draws up from the roots and in time bears fruit, hope should encourage us to hold on, persevere as we wait. Hope brings vitality, strength, vigor and enthusiasm to our bodies and soul.

This month I am sharing the lessons learned from the devotional “31 Days of Hope” by Susan Chamberlain Shipe. Week One is here. I hope you will return next week for more on this topic. And in the meantime, you can read more about the book on the author’s website HERE.

Today I am joining … Trekking Thru the Week and #RaRaLInkup and Teaching What Is Good  .