My Generous and Loving Lord, I am so thankful for Your gift of hope. Throughout my Christian life, hope has always represented my expectation of good coming into my life at some future point. As the “God of hope”, I waited in expectation of Your fulfilling a promise which would benefit my life going forward. In hope, I found a refuge from the adversity and challenges in my life. I seemingly made myself a “prisoner of hope” … almost paralyzed while waiting patiently for the resolution of a problem or difficulty that I was facing. Hope was a cherished and expected deliverance from a problem/scourge that had come into my life. I awaited in passive joy for an event that would change my fortunes. My hope In You was centered on deliverance from the power of sin and circumstances beyond my control. I saw it as a tool that You had given to me to escape what life throws at me.
The new revelation which I have gained regarding hope is that it is a “now thing” and not just a passive waiting for something good to happen to me in the future. Hope allows me to keep my faith on track. In essence, it is a reflection of my trust in You. It is the force that enables me to use my faith in the furtherance of Your goals. I have come to understand that hope invites me to “act now” while waiting for the eventual good outcome that will permeate my life. I see it like working for a paycheck. I do the requirements of my job each day with the expectation that I will receive the fulfillment of a promise at the end of the month. I work “now” for a “promise” to be fulfilled in the future. It is like that with faith. It is used “now” to attain goals for the Kingdom. As a result, my faith is rewarded with the fulfillment of the promises You have made to me … which is the essence of hope.
As a beneficiary of Your gift, I cannot let fear steal it from me. Help me walk out my trust in You and not what I see with my eyes. You have freely given me the gift of hope to withstand whatever life throws at me. Hope calls me to move forward fearlessly in obedience to Your will. Hope pushes me to change so I can fall in line with Your expectation that I will give You my all. In hope, You do not give me permission to become resigned in a “what will be, will be” mentality. Hope makes me want to be a part of what You want. It calls me to remain true to You no matter what is going on around me. It is embedded in the truth that You will be faithful as I remain faithful to Your calling. Let me not be deceived into believing that what I hope for will get lost in the shuffle because I need hope in You to go on. And it is in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Romans 15:13 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.