Where would we be without hope?  English poet Alexander Pope wrote, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast:  Man never is, but always to be blest.”  To where can we turn when hope dries up?  Perhaps we would do well to turn to scripture for that answer… “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in Thee. (Ps 39:7 NAS)  In Romans 4:18, Paul records Abraham as having “hope against hope” that God would fulfill His promise of descendants numbering more than the stars in the sky.  Our true hope can only rest in our Heavenly Father.  In our lesson this week, introductory remarks included the fact that those in attendance were there because of hope.  This is in contrast to the reference the apostle Paul makes of ‘those who have no hope’. (cf. 1 Thess 4:13)

Hope is certainly appealing to us, and Bill Clinton used that appeal effectively in his 1992 White House run, when he staked home town claims to Hope, Arkansas.  What is your hope?  Is there something in which you have a “confident expectancy” of obtaining?  Perhaps you hope for a particular job, or for your favorite team in the NCAA tournament winning the title, or maybe you hope for the perfect spouse.  These are certainly valid hopes, but my hope is that you would aim higher, for one that arguably has the greatest possible appeal, finding its source in the words of David in the psalm referred to above.  God is certainly worthy of our hopes for He is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) and we can hope for those good and perfect gifts.  Do you?

The song says, “…faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us, but the greatest is love.”  Salvation, righteousness, eternal life, resurrection… these are some other good things from the Lord and these are what we have our hope in.  Resurrection to eternal life, due to the righteousness we have in Christ brings about salvation to those who believe.  Looking for something to hope for?  Put your hope in the Lord and His great gifts.

Copyright © 2009, Nolan P. Rutter