Hope.
It is defined as “a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
It’s the feeling things will turn out for the best, or what one is desiring will be obtained or achieved.
“So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.” (Hebrews 6:18, NLT)
As we face hard or seemingly impossible situations, our hope often wanes. It weakens. Dissipates. We can feel like we have lost our hope. There seems to be no signs of change, of improvement, or a resolution.
It can be hard to be patient and wait for things to get better. We can tire of trusting and being patient. We can lose our desire to even hope.
This is when we need someone to hold on for us.
Once we experience hope, the writer of Hebrews encourages us to grab hold of the promised hope, hold on with all our might, and never let hope slip from our hands.
The Message powerfully expresses it with these words:
“We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline …”
A lifeline is a line, a rope, or flotation device used for saving or preserving the life of another person being overwhelmed by the waters.
Hope becomes our unbreakable spiritual lifeline, the lifeline we hold onto for ourselves and to offer others.
We receive hope from others and in turn, we offer that same hope to others when they need someone to hold hope out. It is a most precious gift to be the recipient of someone hoping on your behalf.
“Then the Lord answered me and said, “Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:2-3, NASB)
Filled with hope,
we are enabled to hold on
until the promise comes.
In her post, “We will leave the Light on for you“, Lisa Brittain reminds us that we are more like “sojourners and exiles on this broken Earth.” May you be encouraged as you read her post.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
*This is an edited post which first appeared HERE.
Photo by chris robert on Unsplash
The verse from Habakkuk is one of my favourites Joanne. May we continue in hope towards the upward goal.😊
Blessings, Jennifer
I always think of hope as a verb. Yes, we are waiting but it is more than that. We have an active responsibility and in addition to waiting we must also believe.
That Jesus is our unchangeable rock in troubled times, that He’s not going anywhere and will not change like shifting shadows is such a great hope for us.
Thank You, Lord.
I love that imagery of hope as a lifeline. We have to adjust our thinking and wait for God’s timeline for our lives, but He gives us every reason to believe He will ultimately do what is best.
These are powerful words, Joanne, “Hope becomes our unbreakable spiritual lifeline.”
Joanne Hope is more than a lifeline in hard times; it binds us to the Rock of our salvation. As Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” It is our anchor which keeps us safe in any storm or trial. Thank you for reminding us that we have this anchor and can likewise reach out to others with that same secure Hope!
Hope that isn’t “hope-so” but is a confidence as sure as God who has given both his promise and oath. Love this topic.
Thank you for featuring my post. And thank you for highlighting hope, His name is Jesus, in your post today. I love those verses in Hebrews and Habakkuk – the Old and the New Testament validating our hope in God, and admonishing us to hold on with perseverance.
Thank you for this!
I’m teaching on hope in a couple of weeks, so I’m paying attention to all the words of hope in Scripture. So many!
Hope is holding his hand as He walks us through the hard challenge – and daring not to let go. I have found I hold on tighter in the scary parts of the walk. I tend to be more careless of the threats unseen in the easy parts of the journey. However, I have learned to not let go even then.