HOPE IN THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

By Maritza Cosano    

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”—Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

Hope is a special gift of our salvation. According to Hebrews 10:23, it’s a certainty of God’s promise. While we can “hope” that our troubles will be over tomorrow or that our children won’t spill their cereal on the living room carpet (again), we must remember that our only reliable hope is in what we cannot see or control: the outrageous faithfulness of God. 

Like most women, my brain is wired for intuitive thinking and is good at controlling things. Make no mistake, although the technical ingenuity involved in our brain wiring is awesome, sometimes we can allow it to get a lot of things in a tangle. Mainly, that central desire to control things. Yes, I hate to admit it, most women don’t deal well with expecting the unexpected. So, we organize, plan, and execute that plan . . . whatever it may be. 

A key thing to bear in mind is that from the time we were young girls, we were given certain responsibilities, like holding a baby (toy) in our arms. We rocked it. We fed it. We protected it from others, most especially from our boy siblings—or boys in general. Is it so surprising then that when it comes to our circumstances in life, we have a hard time placing our hope on something or someone other than ourselves or someone we can’t see or trust? 

Trust . . . Now, this leads me to our second key thing. As women, most of us have had our share of mistrusting others. Be it from bad relationships with the opposite sex or with friends and family members. But, ladies, this is where we need to untangle our thoughts and let God take control. And that can only happen when we trust Him with all our hearts. I know trust doesn’t always come easy. But if there’s one person we CAN trust, it’s the One who made us and saved us, who sent His Son for us and gave us eternal life! And our responsibility to God as His daughters is to study His character so we will know, without a doubt, that whatever way He deals with our circumstances in life, it’s the right way. Even when things don’t go the way we thought or desired, we can still stand firm on knowing He is our Abba Father—all-loving, all-knowing, incredibly merciful and gracious. 

As followers of Jesus, we are called to persevere in a number of areas, to hang on to hope when life gets crazy—moving forward, heading toward the day when Christ returns or takes us home. Meanwhile, let’s hold on to each other as sisters in Christ, offering the love, support, and assurance each of us needs. 

Your relationship with Jesus is instrumental in your life as a believer. This week, I challenge you to place all your confidence in God’s plan for your life, with an expectation that He will fulfill everything He has promised, though you haven’t experienced fulfillment yet. 

Pause, Practice, and Pray: Read Hebrews 11 and journal what God shows you, what it means to you. And then, ask God: “Lord, please increase my faith in you.”