There is hope to come; there is hope even now.
The past few weeks, the Lord had been been bringing me back to the concept of hope, a topic which both different to grasp and much needed these days. In my prayer morning, He impressed me to go to scripture.
When the dark night feels endless, what does the Bible say about hope?
1. First, that true hope can come only from God.
To put or place in our hope in anything or anyone else will lead to disappointment and pain. Political leaders, countries, governments, celebrities, money, human relationships, romance, friends—whether good or bad, they will eventually fail us.
True hope, everlasting hope, unfailing hope—is only found in the Lord!
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.” —Romans 15:13a (NLT)
“And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.” —Psalm 39:7 (NLT)
“And this hope will not lead to disappoinment. For we know how early God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”—Romans 5:5 (NLT)
2. Second, that when all seems lost, and it seems that there is no redemption in sight—hope remains!
The Lord will never abandon us without hope.
In the midst of extended suffering or uncertainty, it can be easy to feel abandoned or forgotten by God.
Through all this, expressing hope can feel radical or even foolish and falsely optimistic.
Who would dare to hope for good in a time like this?
But I caution us not to confuse hope with happy-go-lucky, forced optimism. Hope is deeper than all that...
Indeed, hope can feel radical beyond words. But so is His love and goodness and mercy, indeed—the “radical” nature of God’s love helps us dare to hope in even suffering.
“I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.” —Lamentations 3:20-22 (NLT)
3. Finally, that hope reveals the unfathomable contrast between heaven and earth.
With everything going on, maybe this is a new feeling for you— one you’ve never experienced before. Or maybe, this feels like a painful renewal of previous suffering.
The presence of hope does not negate your suffering or pain, rather, our suffering reminds us of a great contrast. I’m sure you’ve heard it said before that this earth isn’t our home. To not risk over-repeating, I’ll say just this—there will be a time with no more suffering or tears.
That is our ever-present, everlasting, eternal hope. The physical state of this earth can never take that hope away from us.
Even when it it feels “foolish” to hope with all things considered—remember that hope remains. Even when we don’t feel it—it remains. Even when we don’t remember—it remains.
Even when we are angry or grieving or indescribably hopeless—it remains and remains and remains.
“We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)” —Romans 8:24-25 (NLT)
“And then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth and disappeared.”—Revelation 21:1a (NLT)
Despite writing all this, I know my words will still fall short and fail to express all that is true. But I wish, if anything, you feel a small beam of hope today.
May He bless you this week, revealing to you the glorious, inexplicable hope we have in salvation.
In Daylight & Darkness,
Zoe
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