“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT
The dictionary defines “hope” as “the confident expectation of good.” Hope is believing for something that you can’t see. Hope is a “positive imagination,” rather than a “negative imagination.” It’s the ability to see something with your heart, rather than your eyes.
When we love Jesus, we have the hope of being with Him in Heaven. We don’t see Heaven yet, with our physical eyes, but we are hoping and trusting Him for the day when we will be with Him forever in Heaven, enjoying the mansion which the Bible tells us Jesus is preparing for us. All of God’s creation is looking forward with hope to the day that King Jesus returns, to make everything new.
“ 22 For we know that even the things of nature, like animals and plants, suffer in sickness and death as they await this great event.
23 And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us—bodies that will never be sick again and will never die.
24 We are saved by trusting (God’s promises give us hope, thanks to what Jesus did for us). And trusting means looking forward to getting something we don’t yet have—for a man (anyone) who already has something doesn’t need to hope and trust that he (or she) will get it.
25 But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.” (Romans 8:22-25 TLB)
Hope requires patience. Maybe you remember Christmas presents under a tree as a child, a birthday party a few days away, or a vacation trip beginning next week, bringing a chance to relax from work, spending time away with family or friends.
The hope and anticipation of these events required patience to wait for. As a child, I would daydream during the last few days of school, of summer holidays soon to be realized. Plans formed in my imagination of hikes in nearby woods and around the countryside, playing road hockey, baseball, swimming, fishing, camping, going to the beach, crochet? (yes, crochet is a lot of fun), with friends and family.
Romans 5:4-5 (TLB) says, “… patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
When we realize how much God loves us, and has planned for us, we have hope. That hope is not in a person who might change their mind, but in our God who never lies, who keeps His promises, and who loves us like His own children.
I consider myself so blessed, because I’m loved by our great God, precious Jesus, my beautiful sweetheart Hilda, our wonderful son Daniel. I could go on. And God’s Holy Spirit, who is God’s promise to His children, is like His guarantee that I belong to Him. His Spirit lives inside me, assuring me of the hope of being with all of them for eternity. The Holy Spirit living inside me also gives me so much joy, peace, and a love for others, wanting everyone to have the hope of Heaven.
I trust all of you, my friends, are experiencing the hope that God offers us. That hope only comes through believing and receiving Jesus as our Saviour from sins. He made a way for us to enjoy this hope and He wants each of us to be with Him someday as well, when Jesus rules as King forever.
None of us will enjoy being in Heaven by being good enough. We have all sinned and fall short of God’s perfection. So Jesus came to pay for our sins, give us a clean slate, and His blood covers all of our sins. As God’s Son, Jesus was the one God sent, and the only one who could live a perfect life on earth, and die on our behalf to allow us into Heaven. God loves you so much He gave His only Son to die for you. Jesus loves you so much that He did die for you, so that you could become part of God’s family.
Ask Jesus to forgive you all of your sins, and make you a part of His family. God will give you a new heart, and His Holy Spirit will come into your heart. God will adopt you into His family and His promise of eternal life will be for you. Then you will have hope, even though things around you may appear hopeless. You then belong to God, and He will be with you throughout your life, helping you day by day, and give you the hope, His promise, of eternal life in Heaven. 🙂 See less
