Forty Days of Promises: Hope
Thursday, May 7
God promises to give us hope.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:21-24
All promises are fulfilled in Christ.
Please read Luke 24:1-12.
Hope is the expectation that something good is coming. That’s what Mary and the other women experienced at the empty tomb when the angels reminded them of what Jesus had told them. When Jesus was crucified, all their hope concerning the Messiah had been dashed and they were overwhelmed with grief and despair. The words of the angels restored that hope.
Sisters, our hope is found in that empty tomb!
Our spotlight scripture tells us that our reason for hope is the fact that “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” and “His mercies never come to an end.” Praise the Lord! Our hope is linked to eternity! Every promise that God has given to us will be fulfilled. We have hope because God has proven over and over again throughout the Word that He is faithful. Lamentations explains our reason for hope this way: “The Lord is my portion.” In Hebrew tradition, each son was given a portion of the inheritance from his father. As children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, we not only receive a portion of what God has, but we receive a portion of God himself—His Holy Spirit. Paul spells it out for us: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption for those who are God’s possession.” Remember that Jesus said, “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Given all this, we have a solid reason for our hope about the future.
The past few months have been a struggle. The coronavirus has shattered the lives of so many people—the loss of loved ones, the loss of jobs and income, fear of the future and deepening despair. Yet, we can still have hope in God to come through, to protect us, to restore us with His “steadfast love.” We can rejoice in the fact that God’s mercies “are new every morning.”
When we wake up in the morning, whatever we are facing, let’s have hope in our God because He is always faithful to those who love Him. If we focus on Him rather than on the problems in our life, if we seek Him first, I know that His tender mercies will surround us in a new, fresh way, supplying us with all that we need…and…exceedingly more than we can ask or imagine.
For further reading: Psalm 33:20-22; 1 Peter1:3; Romans 5:1-5; Romans 8:24-25; Ephesians 1:13(NIV); John 10:28-30; Matthew 6:33
Dear Lord, You are our hope. No matter what is happening in our life, we know that we can put our hope in You to guide us through it all. Your steadfast love never falters. Thank you for loving us, for saving us, for guaranteeing our place in eternity with You in Your kingdom. In a world full of uncertainty and disappointments, we put our hope in You. In Jesus’ name and for the Father’s glory, Amen.
