A Little of This Makes Life Worth Living

The middle of June is here, and we’re off on vacation! With our older daughter now a junior in college, I know that the family vacations she’ll be able to participate in are going to become less frequent, so I’m really looking forward to this one.

Since our younger daughter had her graduation party on Saturday, it feels like we’ve closed the door on high school. I don’t think that will really sink in until August when school starts back up and she doesn’t go! That’s about the time we’ll be finishing up her college shopping and getting ready to move her into a dorm. That will be quite a transition!

Life gives us the opportunity to experience lots of emotions. Sometimes it seems like there’s so much change happening that we just need to slow down and absorb it. At other times, it can seem like we’re in a rut and that nothing will ever change. Regardless of which one we’re experiencing, what can keep us going is hope.

Hope allows us to live with a feeling of expectation. Now if everything was perfect, we wouldn’t need hope. If all our needs were met and every relationship was going along smoothly and there was no divisiveness and all was peace, hope would be out of business.

But we all know that’s not the case. In fact, in the midst of a trial, there may be days when hope is all we have. So let’s consider some truths about hope.

Our hope is in God’s mercy.

“Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;” ~Psalm 33:18

If we had to deal with our own sin, we’d be doomed. But God – though He would be totally just in punishing us – in His mercy allowed Jesus to take the penalty for our sin.

“The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” ~Psalm 147:11

Isn’t this verse exciting? God takes pleasure in you and I when we fear Him and hope in His mercy.

Our hope is in eternal life.

“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” ~Titus 3:7

This is the ultimate hope!! Because of God’s mercy in sending a Savior, we have the gift of eternal life in Heaven with Him forever. We’d certainly feel grateful and blessed to receive an inheritance here on earth. How much greater our excitement over our inheritance of Heaven!

Hope anchors our soul.

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;” ~Hebrews 6:19

This passage is talking about how God keeps His covenants and promises. Because our God is faithful, our hope is grounded in Him. That hope keeps us from drifting or going off course when the storms come.

Hope teaches us patience.

“But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” ~Romans 8:25

Ahh waiting, not a favorite topic 🙂 But we can learn much in a waiting season. In fact, hope isn’t usually instantly fulfilled. It takes time for hope to become reality, but what excitement and rejoicing there is when it happens!

Here we see it again – hoping and waiting tied together. “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.” ~ Lamentations 3:26

We hope in His Word.

“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.” ~Psalm 119:114

“I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.” ~Psalm 130:5

Let’s go to God’s Word when we need our hope strengthened. Find a promise that God made and claim it for your own.

When I think about our “baby girl” going off to college in the fall, verses like Jeremiah 29:11 give me hope. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God has a plan for her life and He will guide her into it.

If you’re discouraged today, may God lead you to find hope in Him and His Word. He is the ultimate source of our hope.

“For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.” ~Psalm 71:5

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.” ~Orison Swett Marden

Related posts:

• 6 Ways to Find Hope When Times Are Tough
• 5 Things to Know About God’s Plan for Your Life
• How to Praise God When Life Is Difficult