Hope

By nature, I'm an optimist. I can see the sunny side of a mud pit. I just like to have hope. But as I've grown older, and lived more, I have begun to see how hopeless life really is. I'm still optimistic, but maybe with a bit more reality thrown in. I guess I've come to realize that there are very few, if any, completely happy endings.

Except, there is One who promises us a happy ending. Up front, He tells us we will have trouble. There are days when I feel that is a horrible understatement, but accurate nevertheless. Still, He says, follow Him and He will overcome on our behalf. In fact, not even death can swallow us if we put our hope in Jesus.

The cool thing is that in His grace and mercy, we also have hope for the here and now. If we didn't have that, wouldn't we all be like, "Let us die already!" What would life mean if it was just about a good ending? But Jesus assures us that He has plans for each of us here in the present: day to day, hour to hour. Psalm 146:5 says "Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God."

It's really impossible to have hope in situations. I mean, we can certainly try. I'll be the first to admit that nothing comforts me more than believing I have complete control over a situation. But it's an illusion, isn't it? Control? We really don't have control over anything. But there is One who does.

When we put our hope in His loving-kindness, His power, His holiness, His wisdom, it completes everything. We know He knows it all, so though everything might appear to be falling apart all around us, He is the anchor that keeps us steady.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13