I love this time of year. The temperature is dropping, signifying the arrival of Fall. We begin to see decorations of pumpkins and scarecrows, smells of gingerbread and cloves, and tastes of caramel apples, pumpkin pie and roasted corn. As the seasons blend from Summer to Fall there is a feeling of something new. We have a renewed hope for the future which will soon be buzzing with holiday preparations and visits with family and friends.

I want to talk today about hope. We have all used this 4-letter word, usually meaning we are wishing a certain event will come to pass. We hope for rain; we hope it doesn’t rain; we hope we get a raise at work; we hope our birthday present is what we want; we hope our child gets that scholarship; we hope Uncle George doesn’t bore everyone again with the same old stories at the Thanksgiving dinner. Hope is to cherish a desire with anticipation and with expectation. When we have hope we have a desire to see an expected outcome. Hope is the absence of despair, disbelief, discouragement and pessimism. If you have hope you will not be discouraged.

The Bible is chocked full of verses about hope. Of all the books of the Bible that speaks directly to hope, Psalms has an abundance of references. Due to space, I have not listed all, but these are a good representative.

Psalm 119:114 “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.”

Psalm 31:24 “Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.”

Psalm 39:7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for and expect? My hope and expectation are in You.”

Psalm 43:5 “Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.”

Psalm 71:14 “But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.”

Psalm 27:14 “Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.”

I could not help but notice that, along with hope, these Scriptures include another important word, “wait.” Oh my goodness, how I dislike that word at times. When we hope in the Lord, we are to wait on Him to work things for our good in His timing, not ours. That is the hard part of hope. I believe we all are "fixers," wanting to jump in and “fix” a situation before we allow God to take the time necessary to soften hearts and make things happen. Waiting on God is a good thing and in that time of waiting we can learn more about Him and ourselves. Sounds like a good topic for a future blog!

My favorite passage about hope is found in the New Testament, Romans 5:1-8. When I walked through a valley of discouragement and divorce followed by the disease of cancer, this verse ministered to me and allowed me to continue to hope for my future. I learned to encourage myself in the Lord with this Scripture. If you are going through a crisis this passage will bring your comfort. If things are okay with you today, hang on – there will be a time when you need this passage to renew your faith and hope.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Knowing that Christ died for me, even knowing my faults and sins, gives me no other choice but to trust Him with my life. If He loves me enough to endure the horrible death he suffered, I can trust him with my life and look expectantly toward my future. I can know that He will take care of me and those I love because that is His promise. As the old hymn says,

“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.
His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.”

I made the decision long ago to remain in a hopeful state. The Word of God sustains me and reassures me this is where I belong. I asked God once why I kept hoping a certain event would happen only to be disappointed time and time again. He answered ever so sweetly, “If you didn’t have hope you would have given up a long time ago.” Friends, I pray you will never give up hope for your future. God has the Master Plan and He wants only the best for you. Won’t you trust Him? He loves you more than you can comprehend. Place your hope and trust in Him, for He will not disappoint you.

Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior, my God will hear me.”

Candy