“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
-1 Peter 3:15
To have your expectations centred on Christ. This is not a guarantee of immunity from harm but a conviction that God is always present.
What is hope?
Wikipedia defines hope as follows: “Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes in respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: “expect with confidence” and “to cherish a desire with anticipation. “It is an anticipatory emotion.”
What does it mean to have hope as a follower of Christ?
In a quick search on e-Sword the word “hope” comes up in 133 verses in the Bible. If one looks at any holocaust movie and many war movies it is quick to see that those who did not lose hope are the ones that survived their horrific circumstances.
Here are a few good movies one can watch as they bring the concept across so beautifully:
Schindler’s List
Hacksaw Ridge
How and what do we “expect with confidence”?
“But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint”
-Isaiah 40:31
We are therefore to wait upon the Lord, to be still in His presence and trust in Him as this will renew our strength so that we can run and not become weary. To walk this road of hope so that we do not grow faint.
“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope” (Romans 15:4) We must study the Scriptures as this was God’s way of equipping us, and we must do this with perseverance. Scriptures are there for our encouragement and when one is encouraged you will have a renewed hope.
When we let Scriptures grow in our minds, hearts and souls we have planted seeds that will sprout when we are facing difficult times.
“This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope. It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail.”
-Lamentations 3:21-22
New Song has this amazing song: “Rescue”
You are the source of life
And I can’t be left behind
No one else will do
I will take hold of you
I need You Jesus
To come to my rescue
Where else can I go
There’s no other name by
Which I am saved
Capture me with Grace
My heart is yours for life
And I need your hand in mine
No one else will do
I put my trust in you.
I will follow you
This world has nothing for me
We have to come to a point of utter dependence on God, placing our hope in Him, where we cannot be left behind. We must stay in His grace. This world is not our home. Our view must be on that of our ultimate glorification in heaven, and where we will live in perfect harmony, the way God had intended it since the beginning of time.
The Challenge
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15) The challenge that comes to us from Jesus’ cross makes it clear, we must believe in Him, when we do, we will not perish and we will have eternal life, for we place our hope in Christ.
This is the story we see as a golden thread running right through the Bible. God did the very first “missionary outreach”: “Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) God restored a way for us to be able to come to Him.
Humanity was given hope at the beginning of Genesis and four-thousand years later when all the subsequent promises made came into fulfilment in Jesus.
Conclusion
In the Old Testament, the Israelites had to look at the bronze serpent to receive salvation from the wrath of God and to escape the deadly consequences of their sin. Today we can look back to Jesus who was lifted on the cross for our salvation and atonement from the wrath of God we rightfully deserve for our sins.
Only those who place their hope and faith in Jesus will be redeemed and saved from the devil’s deadly sneers. Let us accept Jesus’ redeeming salvation and grow in our hope until we receive glorification for when we meet Jesus face to face.
