Hope

Psalm 25:5  "Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

Psalm 33:20  "We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield."

Psalm 42:5  "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."

Psalm 71:14  "As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more."

Romans 12:12  "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Romans 15:13  "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."



         According to Wikipedia, Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life.  According to the Bible, hope is a promise to believers that our bodies will be redeemed by the grace of God and given eternal life.
         Romans 8:23-25  "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
         We can cling to hope as believers because we know that our hope is not limited to what happens in this life.  Hope makes our trials easier to bear, because we have won the victory over death through Jesus Christ. Romans 5:3-5  " Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
      We also have hope that our trial will work out and not call us Home yet.  We glorify God when He uses us as an example in suffering.  Hope is displayed in our prayers, in our service to the suffering, and in our trust of God's faithfulness.  "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
        Have you heard about the guy who was terminally ill, but still bought green bananas?  Why wouldn't he buy yellow bananas that are ready to eat without a wait?  Because, he still had hope in his heart that God would see him through a few more days to see them ripen.  As for myself, my green bananas are the Alan Jackson concert tickets for Jan. 20th that I'm going to buy soon.  I have hope that whether I see Alan or God in the coming days, it's going to be a great time.

When trouble seeks to rob your very breath, When tragedy hits hard and steals your days, Recall that Christ endured the sting of death; He gives us hope, and merits all our praise. —Gustafson


4 Ways To Help Yourself During a Trial [intouch.org]

1. Believe and trust God. Only by viewing life from a biblical perspective can we understand His purposes in our trials and trust His wisdom in allowing them.

2. Accept the situation as coming from the Lord. If we truly believe He’s working for our good, we can choose to receive each difficulty as from His loving hand, whether it was directly sent or permissively allowed. Then we can say “Thank You.”

3. Submit to God in the circumstance. Although we may not like the situation, knowing that God is good and does good allows us to confidently place our life under His authority. 

4. Draw from Him the strength to endure. No one has the ability within himself to endure hardships with gratefulness. Only by relying on the Lord can believers go through adversity with an appreciative heart.


Tenth Avenue North song w/lyrics  "I Have This Hope"