Last week I discussed how Hope and Air are a lot alike. How they both move through life surrounding us at all times. How they are necessary for us to move forward, constantly giving us momentum, energy and inspiration.
We also began to talk about what would happen if one of these essential elements of life wasn’t available. Specifically Hope. And that’s where we pick up today…
Have you ever really thought about what your life would look like without hope? Without the expectation that whatever you’re going through will ever end?
Without the feeling that life will ever get better?
Without the sensation of what’s to come?
Without the inner peace of knowing that better days are ahead?
Or even on a more basic level, without the expectation that you will be able to feed yourself again?
Without the thought that you’ll ever enjoy another event?
Without the hope for a weekend or a date or a fulfilling relationship?
Truly, a life without hope is a scary proposition!
The good news for those who may be experiencing a season of life with little-to-no hope is that season can come to an end today. Why? Because Hope is truly ALIVE! Hope is here for you today, and it’s free, it’s present and it’s available for you to accept it. Right now! Not in a few days, not when you start to be a better person, not after you finish five more self-help books, not next Sunday at church. No, Right Now!
Hope is a free gift God has given us through the sacrifice of His son Jesus. Jesus, God in the flesh, His forgiveness of our sins and the grace He pours out to us all is the true definition of Hope.
In the book of Jeremiah, the author himself writes a letter on behalf of God to a group of folks who are living in exile. These people are separated from the life they know, they are left hopeless to wonder if life will ever get back to normal.
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 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.12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declare the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile”( Jeremiah 29:10-14).
God knew how challenging it was for these exiles to sit for years and years with no hope. He saw their hope dwindling, so He decided to send them some encouragement. A spark to hopefully re-ignite their hope. In today’s terms, God sent them an encouraging text or posted an uplifting word on their timeline.
For someone reading this today, I hope this blog is serving as that same spark. I don’t know who you are or what you are going through. But I pray with everything I have that today you will experience the freedom that comes from accepting the Hope that Jesus can bring your life. The Hope that you do have a future beyond whatever it is that’s bringing you down today. A future that can be prosperous and rewarding, like the life you’ve dreamed of living.
It’s the peace you’ve searched for. It’s the never-ending joy you’ve tried to find from so many other things in your life. It’s the friendship you’ve always wanted. It’s the feeling that will drive you to be all you can be.
By trusting in Jesus and surrendering your will to His, this HOPE will become yours. That free gift will instantly show up on your doorstep. This Hope will change you forever!
A life without hope is a scary proposition. I know, I nearly died without it. But today I am fully alive, hope has changed my life and my hope is Jesus.
What is your hope?
Have you experienced a season of life without hope?