Share the Hope

A while ago I talked about Peace. I'd like to discuss Hope a little now. These thoughts are not all my own; some belong to something I recently read by a woman named Enuma Okoro.

Hope is a powerful thing. We all can choose to have hope, or to not have hope. That choice is ours. But having hope sometimes can be difficult. Maybe what you have been hoping and praying for for so long has yet to be answered. Hope is choosing to continue praying for that even when it seems impossible. Hope is believing in God and His love, no matter the situation. It's being unrealistic and ignoring logic. Hope means trusting in God's promises even when it's tough.

However, there is good news. As children of God, we don't choose hope all alone. God is always with us and we have each other to rely on in faith. We are all the body of Christ and hope is ours to pass to everyone who needs it and help them to carry it if they can't by themselves. And our brothers and sisters will always be there for us if we can't carry hope by ourselves. These are some verses that talk about hope.

Psalm 31:24 is one of my favorite verses. "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD."

Psalm 33:22 - "May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in You."

Psalm 71:5 - "For You have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth."

Jeremiah 29:11-13 is a comfort many times when I feel depressed. "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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me, and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Romans 5:1-5 - "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, 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 by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."

Ephesians 1:17-18 - "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints."