There is not a lot of hope to be seen in the world today. Hope today may be as rare as toilet paper was a few months ago. It is exhausting to trudge through each day angry, depressed, hopeless. Where is encouragement and hope? Not in the news or politics or presidential debates, neither on social media. We need hope today as much as a deer pants for flowing streams of water. In these times, I look to God, His Word, and His church for hope.
Hope in God. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. He bids us come to Him, all who are weary, heavy-laden, even hopeless, and He will give rest. When my soul is cast down and hopeless, I remember the God of my salvation. He bled and died to take away my sin. He gives strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine with ten thousand beside. He loved the world and gave His Son so that we may have hope. In this hope we were saved, and in this hope we do not see today, we wait for it with patience.
Hope in God’s Word. Do not turn aside from His rules, for He teaches His people. His words are sweeter than honey! Through His precepts we get understanding. His law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path and it gives hope in dark and hopeless times. His law teaches, trains, corrects, and rebukes. It is a two-edge sword cutting to the bone, molding, shaping, transforming, and growing its listeners. His Living Word, Jesus, is from the beginning, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. He is our hiding place and shield, and we hope in His Word.
Hope in God’s church. He is gathering a community of people onto Himself, to give Him glory, worship, and praise due His name. He and His church will reign. His church is the household of God, the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth. The church is His body, a building, and Christ is the cornerstone. He is building a mansion and will return to gather His people to live with Him there. We are saved and waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for His church, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. We take refuge in Him and wait in hope as we travel the road through this land, heading to our true and rightful home.
We do not hope in chariots or horses or princes; we hope in the name of the Lord our God. Everything else will collapse, fall, and let you down, but we rise and stand upright. God, His Word, and His church will last forever. This is where we put our hope.