Remember when you were a child and made a wish on the first star that appeared in the evening sky? “Star light, star bright…I wish I may, I wish I might…have the wish I wish tonight.” And how many birthday candles have you blown out, with friends and family urging you, “Make a wish!”?
Once adulthood arrives, “wishes” are often relegated to daydreams or packed away as silliness. But hope—ah, that’s something else entirely!
Hope is the cord that connects us to God, the very thing that enables God to work in our lives. Repeatedly the Psalmist points to the power and benefits of hope. “No one who hopes in you [God] will ever be put to shame” (Psalm 25:3). “The eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love” (Psalm 33:18). “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God” (Psalm 42:11).
Hope goes beyond wishing; hope is believing, expecting, anticipating a reality yet to come. Here’s how hope can help in your life:
Hope heals.
Just as your body needs rest to recover from hurt or injury, so does your wounded spirit. When life’s troubles surround you or the future looks bleak, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him” (Psalm 62:5). Hope makes strong. Hope enables you to develop spiritual muscles to combat whatever comes your way. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 41:2). “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD” (Psalm 31:24).
Hope anchors your faith.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don’t see” (Hebrews 11:1). Raise your eyes above everyday woes and look to your Divine Helper.
Hope is a gift from God.
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Claim God’s promise of hope…today!
