Now HopeSample

Don’t lose heart today, hope in the God of tomorrow

Jeremiah 17:7 (NLT) Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. [emphasis added]

Like the proverbial chicken and egg, you can’t separate trust and hope. The greater trust you have in God, the more hope you have. And vice versa. 

As we trust in God and place our hope in Him, we will find peace – like water – to sustain us. By trusting that God has our tomorrow, we find the confidence to face whatever today throws at us.

In September 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Christchurch region in New Zealand’s South Island. Five months later, on 22 February 2011, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake rocked the same area, killing 185 people. It was one of our nation’s biggest tragedies. 

I talked to some of the church pastors in Christchurch, New Zealand after the earthquakes. They said the greatest challenge for people was not knowing what tomorrow would bring – not knowing when or whether another earthquake would hit. Many houses were damaged or destroyed, there was the stress of ongoing and complex insurance negotiations, and the city lived through thousands of aftershocks. There were simply no guarantees and, therefore, no stability.

Life here on earth presents very few guarantees. I am sure that’s why the Bible says that we’ve got to position our trust – not in the things around us – but in the God who made us. 

We often spend our lives trying to build up securities for ourselves within the things of this world. We chase after high salaries, dream of a mortgage-free house, and create daily rituals and routines. I’m not saying any of those things are bad. But they can’t be what’s anchoring you or holding you together. 

It sounds simple, but do you really trust your tomorrow with God? By that, I mean knowing for sure that God has got you fully in the palm of His hand. No matter where you find yourself today, whatever’s going on around you. 

That’s why in Psalm 27:13, the psalmist says he ‘would have lost heart unless [he] had believed that [he] would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living’. Don’t allow what is happening in your today to dictate what your tomorrow looks like. When we position our today in tomorrow, we activate the spirit of hope. 

If you are facing uncertain circumstances, decide today not to lose heart. Declare out loud: ‘I will see the goodness of my God in my tomorrow. I won’t let the things around me stop me from looking ahead to what God has prepared for me. I trust Him; in Him I place my hope.’