What is hope? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says it is: “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.” Two biblical verses which, in my opinion, describe hope more clearly are found in the 15th Chapter of Romans where Paul wrote: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (vs. 4) Here we are reminded that the best resource for providing people with hope is the Word of God itself. Further down in verse 13, Paul wrote: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” This verse is clearer still. It says that God is the God of hope. The closer people are to God, the more hope they will have in their lives. I was thinking of this recently when I was speaking to my sister. She is not my oldest sister but she is 90 years old. She was sharing that lately she has struggled getting some sleep at night due to pain in her legs. I told her that she could call me on one of these nights when the pain doesn’t let her sleep. I told her I would pray with her. “If nothing else”, I said, “You’ll have someone to talk to in the middle of the night.” She replied: “Really, would you do that for me?” I said “of course.” She then said: “Well, that certainly gives me a lot of hope.” Upon hearing this, two thoughts came to my mind. First, I thought “Why should that be such a big deal? After all, that’s what I do.” Like many of you, I love my job, for lack of a better way of putting it. Those who love their job sometimes feel slightly guilty for getting paid to do something they would probably do for free. If it’s not that way with you, I pray one day you’ll have that kind of job. My second thought was that all of us have been called to try to give or convey hope to others, especially our family and friends. The best way to accomplish that goal is by sharing Christ with others. Colossians 1:27 says that “God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” When we share Christ with others, we are giving them hope and this one thing is true: we all need more hope in our lives.

God’s word for today: (Psalm 146:5) “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”