The Promise of Hope

My husband and I went camping this weekend.  It was a quick trip, but it was nice to get away nonetheless.  Several days before we left God had begun to talk to me about the Promie of Hope.  When my husband and I were camping this weekend, it was cold.  Really, really, cold.  Like 30 degrees cold.  We were camping beside a river and there were men fishing all along the river.  Many even waded into the river and fished from the middle instead of the bank.  I thought they were crazy.  No way would I have been out in the middle of the river in the cold weather like that, but I began looking at all of them, and of course they were prepared for the weather and the water.  They had insulated waders that would keep them warm and dry while they were standing in the water.  Most of the waders came thigh high to them.  I was comparing the different gear the half dozen or so men had on while they were fishing and there was only one that had a small pack that I am sure held extra flies (they were fly fishing) and extra line, hooks, etc.  The same one also had a net attached to the back of his suit.  He was the only one that was truly prepared and had the hope and expectation of catching a fish.  He was the only one that would be able to remove the hook from its mouth and place it in his pack while staying in the river.  He had packed and dressed believing his trip and day of fishing would be successful.  I watched this man stand in the middle of the river constantly casting, reeling in the line, and recasting his line for over 3 hours.  He did not catch anything during that time.  But he was prepared to.  

That example is not unlike faith, hope, and expectancy.  We know what the word says about hope and faith.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

But what part does hope have?  

Psalms 39:7  "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

Our very hope is in Him.  

Psalms 62:5  My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.

In these two scriptures, "hope" and "expectancy" are from similar words in the original Hebrew, and they both mean similar things.  But so often we expect to receive one thing and we experience disappointment because it isn't what we thought it would look like.  Our own expectations can blind us to the promise when it arrives because it doesn't look like what we thought it would.  But to receive the promise we have to be prepared with the expectation of receiving whatever the promise looks like.  Just like the fisherman in my example was prepared.

So, what is the difference between hope and expectation?  Expectation is the anticipation of a particular outcome or in other words, it is the belief that something will occur.  Hope is the desire for that particular outcome to occur. Ladies, let me give you another example of hope and expection.  When we find out we are pregnant, we expect the time we will be pregnant to be approximately 9 months and then we will give birth to a baby.  We hope the delivery is free of complications and we hope that we have a healthy baby after all the pain, strain, discomfort, and waiting for all those months.  

Our promise of hope with our heavenly Father is not unlike pregnancy, or even fishing in the river like I mentioned earlier.  In Hebrews 11:8-10 We see the retelling of God calling Abraham to "the place which God would show him."  Abraham did not know where he was going, he was just going to go until God said stop because the land would be his inheritance The word also said that he dwelt "in the land of promise"  with the "heirs of the same promise."  Did you know that when God makes a promise, He doesn't change its conditions or the outcome of it?  

Romans 11:29  For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

God is not going to take your gifts away from you.  He is not going to remove the calling He has put onto your life.  Whether we lose our hope through disillusionment and disappointment, He doesn't revoke what He has promised.  Look at Hebrews 6.

Hebrews 6:13-15  For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,  (14)  saying, "SURELY BLESSING I WILL BLESS YOU, AND MULTIPLYING I WILL MULTIPLY YOU."  (15)  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

God made a promise to Abraham.  After Abraham had patiently endured, He obtained the promise.  The promise was Isaac.  Now, Sarah got impatient for a child, if you will think back to the story, and wanted a child; she wanted to give her a husband a child.  In her haste and her desire for a particular outcome, she got anxious and decided to give her hand maiden to her husband so that Sarah might obtain children through Hagar.  Sarah's impatience did not prevent God from fulfilling His promise to Abraham.  In fact, Paul said to the Hebrews in the scriptures above that Abraham had patiently endured and then received the promise.  When God makes a promise to us, only He can fulfill the promise He made.  We cannot on our own or in our strength or wisdom or knowledge make that promise come to pass.  Only God can and will fulfill a promise He has made to us.  We can have the expectation that His promises to us will be fulfilled because He is a faithful God and He will not revoke His gifts to us or the calling He has placed on our lives.  That expectation of God's goodness and faithfulness builds within us the desire (or hope) of what is to come through the fulfillment of His promises to us.  Especially when God said this:

Jeremiah 29:11-13  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  (12)  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  (13)  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

We have hope because God gives us thoughts of hope.  He desires good things for us.  He desires peace and not evil; a good future for us.  He does not desire our demise.  That is why He sent His son to die for us.  Our Good Father even says that He will listen to us when we go and pray to Him.  We will seek Him and find Him, when we are searching with all our hearts.  

Hebrews 6:19-20  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,  (20)  where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

This hope that we have is an anchor for our soul. Because it begins from God, it is sure.  It is steadfast, and ushers us into His presence.  Jesus tore the veil separating the people from the presence of the Lord with His death and resurrection.  We now can go directly into His presence with nothing to separate.  We have that expectation.  We have that hope.  

Society has established so many false expectations for us.  From body image to relationships, somewhere we have lost sight of the hope that comes from our Father.  We forget where every good and perfect gift comes from.  We forget where our hope originates.  Our hope is in Him.  It begins with Him.  It ends with Him.  He is Alpha and He is Omega.  He is the beginning and He is the end.  Everything else is somewhere between contained within Him...not outside of Him.  We have this hope as an anchor for our soul.  What is the purpose of an anchor?  It is to keep something in place so it does not drift away from its position.  An anchor is only strong as what attaches it to its point of origination.  So, keep your faith intact.  Don't let society's influence be greater in your mind and thoughts than what God says.  Isn't it great the anchor for our soul is found within the Rock of our Salvation?  What is stronger?  Is there anything else that can keep us within the River of Living Water without drifting? 

 

Psalms 95:1-3  Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.  (2)  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.  (3)  For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.