Hope: May 6, 2010

May 6. TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY MAY 6, 2010.

HOPE

DEFINITION:

The feeling that what is wanted can be had; the hope of winning.

SCRIPTURE:

Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We all have seen or known of situations in life where things seem hopeless. Most of us have experienced times of hopelessness personally. We are all in need of hope. Hope is what keeps us going.

Psalm 31 was written most likely by David when he was in deep despair because he was in a hopeless situation. His enemies were conspiring to kill him and all of his friends had abandoned him. The first 13 verses describe his state of hopelessness. He was so completely drained emotionally and physically that he felt like a piece of broken pottery. A broken piece of pottery is useless and no one wants it. How can you feel any more hopeless than that?

In his hopelessness, David turned to his one source of hope. He gave it all to God. He said to God, “My times are in your hands.” In the final verses of this psalm, David tells of his renewed hope.

In the verse from Psalms (above) we are encouraged by the Psalmist to be of good courage. The reason he encourages us to be of good courage is because in God we have hope. He will give us the strength to get through the times of hopelessness. Only one that believes in Jesus can have this hope. When you commit to living your life honoring God, He will be faithful to you and will hear your cry for help in your time of distress and hopelessness, just as He heard David’s.

All those that do not know the Lord do not have that hope. There hope is in themselves and their own strength. They are doomed to a life of discouragement and hopelessness because in troubled times they will have no one to turn to.

Paul tells us in Titus 2:12-13 that we should live godly lives in this present age, looking for the blessed hope. Paul refers to the second coming of Jesus when he refers to the “Blessed Hope.” Today this “Blessed Hope” appears to be the only hope for this world.

From the human standpoint, there is no solution for the struggles of the world. Leaders are frustrated with trying to deal with the increasing problems in society. Most of this frustration is because of their evil deeds and their reliance on self and not on God. The only complete and permanent solution will come at the return of Christ to this earth and when He sets up His Kingdom. We are told that He will rule the nations with righteousness and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.

Our hope for the future as the world gets darker is the promised return of God’s Son.

In Romans 5:5 we are reminded that hope in God does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit to reassure us of our salvation. For the believer our hope in the Lord is not just optimism. Our hope is the blessed assurance that Jesus died for us to give us eternal life. Keep your hope strong in the Lord and each day he will bless you and not disappoint you. He is our HOPE!

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 1:6.

“Being confident of this very thing, that he that has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

PRAYER:

Thank You for the hope that I have in my heart for eternal life with You. I am so grateful that my hope in You does not disappoint and help me not to defer my hope in You when I face struggles today. Give me the discipline to train my children to understand the hope that You will give everyone that puts their trust in You.