100 Days of HopeSample

The Lord Is Our Hope

In the New International Version (NIV), the word “hope” is used 174 times. Many of those times it is used in the context of having hope in the Lord. One definition of hope is “desire accompanied by expectation.”

What is my expectation of God? In Romans 4:21 Abraham is described as being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. My expectation should be that God will faithfully fulfill what He has promised. Not what I want, but what Scriptures record He has promised. Next, for my hope to be in the Lord, my desires must line up with Scriptural admonitions. Unfortunately, my desires too often fit what television commercials advertise or what my ego demands.

The writers of the Psalms give us a very interesting circular answer for having Scriptural desires. Psalm 37:4 admonishes, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” However, Psalm 40:8 says, “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart,” and Psalm 73:25 says, “And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”

So, when I desire for the Lord to be the master of my life, for His will and teachings to guide all of my actions, and to be obedient with all of my heart, I can be fully persuaded that God has the power and will to make those things happen.

Prayer: Father, give us the faith to know that you have the power and the will to give us the desires of our heart when we consecrate our lives to you.