If someone was to ask you what you need most, what would you answer?
Now that your mind is scanning over objects like flipping through the pages of a catalog, what item have you settled on? Some would say money, a new house or a new car. But what do you need that is really beyond all that kind of stuff? When all is sifted through, what is the thing you need most?
I would like to suggest that the one thing you and I need above any material possession is summed up in one small word... hope. Life seems to fall apart when we don’t have it. In fact, Proverbs 13:12 says that hope deferred makes the heart sick.
It’s like water and food. You go without it for too long, and you won’t survive. In fact, some people have given up the will to live because they feel they simply lack this one thing in their lives. People will try anything from drugs to relationships to find it, that inner peace hope brings. One man said, “My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of chips and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!” We may smile at this man’s method of finding hope, but feeling hopeless is not a laughing matter.
To be honest, hope that lasts has to be from somewhere beyond ourselves. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him...”
This doesn’t mean that God has hope or that He is like hope, but rather that God is hope. If God is your Father and you have a problem on your hands, what do you do? The Bible says give it to God because He is able to do infinitely more than we ask or think. If your future is too frightening then God promises that if you trust Him, He can keep you from falling.
Let’s face it, anxiety or hopelessness has no advantages. They just give small problems big shadows. The thing is, we cannot stop the storms that try to come and steal our hope, but we can choose where to fix our gaze.
If you keep your eyes on what seems to be going wrong, you will feel hopeless. But if you focus on God you will find a hope you can’t describe. That doesn’t mean we are naive about what’s going on around us, rather we choose to counterbalance things with long looks at God’s accomplishments.
Need a place to start? Just look at your body. The details, the amazing wonder in the creation of your skin, heart, muscle, lungs that breathe air without you giving them a second thought.
If God can see second to second that functioning of your body, certainly He is can supply the hope you need.
If you want hope that doesn’t fade then trust God to be enough in your life. Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” “God is for us” is another word for hope.
If God had a fridge, your picture would be on it. If there is a tree in heaven, God’s carved your name into it. He’s that mindful of you. To have hope that lasts depends on where you set your gaze. Remember, God is hope, He’s the real deal. So keep your eyes on Him. Choose to trust Him.
One more thing, God often filters hope through different things, like people. When you brush up against the church, often we can find the hope we need there.
On Sept. 9 at our church is back to church Sunday – “There Is Hope Here!” We’d love to have you join us. Our service starts at 11a.m.
This column is submitted by Tri-Community Baptist Church in Beiseker.
