Hope Is ContagiousSample

HOPE FOR & HOPE IN

If you ask someone what are they hoping for, the laundry list would be long and diverse. You would hear answers like world peace, good health, financial stability, obedient kids, job promotion, and a thriving business. It might be as small as a good parking spot at the mall or a win by your favorite team. However, the real game-changer is not what you are Hoping For but what is your Hope In. That is critical because Hope For is greatly dependent upon your Hope In. A child hopes to get everything on their wish list for Christmas but if their hope is in a mythical person dropping down a chimney and delivering it, there might be a setup for a letdown. Hope For depends on Hope In.

The bible spends the majority of its time on the subject of Hope. Clarifying and strengthening what our hope is in. As believers, our hope is planted firmly in God and in his word. Over 20 times just in the book of Psalms alone the writer will remind us that while we are Hoping For many of the cares and concerns of life, to make sure that our Hope In should be singularly in God. This is important because unlike many of the other things we place hope in, God cannot lie, fail or fall through. We hope for health, but our hope is not in doctors but in God our healer. We hope for the provision of our needs but our hope is not on jobs or business ventures but in the Lord who is our provider. Governments will fail, friends will turn, enemies will conspire and your own good intentions will fall short, however, there is only one source that has the track record and power to handle your trust and hope.

The hymn writer encouraged us with these words.

My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame But wholly lean on Jesus' name
On Christ the solid rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand All other ground is sinking sand.

List 5 things you are Hoping For? Now take a moment to reflect to confirm that your HOPE for these things is solely in God.

Additional Reading

Psalms 31 Psalms 33 Psalm 119