Hope

 My morning devotional today was centered around Hebrews 11:1 which declares, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” The emphasis in my devotion was more of the literal application that we place our hope in Christ, I’d like to take the discussion about our “hope” a little different direction today as we delve into our Flat Tire Ministries Thought this week. 

Modern society’s definition of the word hope is different than the hope we read about in Hebrews. Today we use the word hope interchangeably with thoughts such as making a wish or some sort of good luck obligatory comment. “ I hope the Vols win today” or “ I hope everything works out for you and your family” are examples of our culture’s idea of hope. Or at least it appears that way to me.  

The hope that the author of Hebrews was talking about centers around faith. Disclaimer, the deeper the faith the clearer the understanding of hope in our context today. Without faith it is hard to comprehend the true essence of hope. In our conversations today the word hope isn’t based on a maybe/maybe not mentality, true faith creates an assurance of something that we can’t necessarily see, yet our faith provides peace and comfort because we know God’s will is about to be fulfilled in each and every situation. Paul shares his explanation for hope through our faith in Romans 5:3-5 “Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”  Does this mean that as long as we adhere to hope things are going to always work out the way we want them to? I’m sorry but that isn’t hope and it most certainly isn’t faith, that is more of rubbing on the magic lamp and being granted three wishes over and over again. 

So, if hope doesn’t produce wins for the Vols, and it doesn’t guarantee us that our loved one will be healed from their terminal illness, what is hope and how does it reveal itself in our lives? True hope is grounded in a faith that rests in our heart, mind, and soul that gives us the strength to face any and all circumstances and challenges knowing that God is in control and at the end of the day, His will will be done. Paul said hope doesn’t disappoint because when we trust God and place our faith in God then we believe that God’s plan, as difficult as it may be to accept, is bigger and broader than any plan we could ever imagine or conceive. Remember earlier when I said the deeper your faith the better you can understand the true meaning of hope? Well, Jesus, Son of God and son of man is our example of placing our hope in God our Father beyond compare.  

Jesus, knew He could impact this world teaching, preaching and modeling what a Christian life is, and evidence of that was bountiful during the time Jesus walked this earth. As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He knew what kind of impact He was having on mankind. Jesus also knew that what He was getting ready to endure was going to be painful to the extent of costing Him His life. Armed with that knowledge, Jesus prayed to His Father, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Jesus knew that God’s plan needed to be fulfilled, regardless of the pain and suffering He would endure, Jesus knew that God’s plan through His death on the cross would have far reaching implications and outcomes beyond anything that His momentary suffering could produce. 

We can’t fathom God’s plan for our lives, plain and simple. Placing our faith in Christ means that we trust that God’s plan is being fulfilled through whatever it is we have to endure. God gives us that hope, a hope that says, “Father, not my will, but Thy will be done!” May your faith in God fortify your hope through whatever life situation you are going through today! Amen.

Coach Carter