“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Heb. 11:1 There are many reasons to be sure of what we hope for. I remember a tee shirt that I had in college which had a picture of a deodorant called “Sure”. The message said “you can be Sure with Jesus”! Those were fun times and the message is still true.
In Christ there are many things to hope for and many Scriptures that encourage out hope. Psalm 25, for example, says “no one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.” Ps. 42- “Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him.” Ps. 52- “Hope in the name of God” Ps. 119 is a whole Psalm about hope in the Word of God. Ps. 147 says we “hope in his unfailing love”.
In Acts 23 Paul’s hope is in the resurrection. In Romans 12 he writes “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction”. In Romans 15 he says, “may the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
For believers in Jesus, we have great hope, both for now and for eternity because the Holy Spirit lives in us. Ephesians reminds us that before Christ “we were without hope and without God in the world” (2:12) In chapter 4 Paul says we were called to “one hope…one Lord, one faith , one baptism, one God and Father of all.” Then is Col. 1:27 Paul says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory!” In Titus 2 he says we are waiting for our “blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!” Take heart and take hope in these wonderful promises!
Hope is Jesus and Jesus is hope. Paul says in I Cor. 15:19 Paul confirms the resurrection (with evidence) and says, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” In other words, there is something far more at stake: eternity!
Many people today have false hope: hope in government, science, false teachings and wishful thinking. But our hope is in the risen Lord who appeared to his people many times before he ascended to heaven. The writer to Hebrews sums it up like this: by being diligent in our faith we can make our hope sure! You can be Sure with Jesus!
Lord, today there are many believers who are unsure. Remind us that we can be sure through the promises of Scripture and our diligence to know the truth.
When we see things falling apart around us, help us to be “sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Remind us that we “walk by faith and not by sight”. Also remind us as evil grows around us that you are not surprised and will, in fact use all these things to bring about your purposes.
Meanwhile, we pray that more people can find hope in Jesus, because his hope is eternal and does not disappoint us! May more people find joy and peace as we hope in Him. Thank you for the many great and precious promises we find in your Word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.