Hey You! The One Sitting There In The Dark. What Are You Hoping For?

Who you say you are and who you think you are can vary greatly from your actual reality. If we want to discover who we truly are we need to notice how we react in an emergency. It is amazing how emergencies bring out our character and the things that are really in our heart. We say we are a people of faith but when something tragic or dramatic happen to us, what is our first reaction? Is it to turn to a friend for help? Is it to run to family? Is it to run to the doctor or to our credit card, depending on the type of emergency? Or do we pray, trusting that the promises are true and are applied to us and our family?

It really depends on how you answer this question: Where is your hope found? I know, it sounds like a dull and drab question but I want you to ponder it for a few minutes, right now. Are you dependent on your parents, spouse or perhaps a friend? What is your back-up plan? Are you reliant on your education, your intelligence? Perhaps it's your beauty that you hope will always put you on top? It is amazing how we so easily fall into this trap, finding something that seems to be more concrete and accessible than our hope in Jesus Christ.

It is a shame when we start relying on other things than Jesus Christ. Everything else is temporary and in a constant state of change. Relationships change and evolve. The people we thought would always be there for us move out of our lives. Finances rise and fall with a whim. Jobs are anything but stable in this age. Governments come and go, laws are changed, society's values change. Our youthful beauty is lost with time, or at least the appearance of such shallow thoughts of beauty. Even our intelligence fades with age and those degrees become dusty and outdated. There is only one constant in this world and his name is Jesus Christ. His love and promises forever stay the same.

Paul wrote to Timothy:

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:9-10)

If you are relying on anything or anyone else you are going to face heartache, but if your reliance is on Jesus Christ then your life will be forever filled with his joy. That is not to say you will not face difficulties but you will discover that his joy never leaves you when you, in faith, push through such times. We are more than conquerors because Jesus has overcome everything. It means that no matter what we face we can overcome it because he has already overcome it. 

Don't just say that you trust Jesus and love him dearly, live it every single moment of your day. He doesn't just give us hope, he is our hope. He gives us strength and power to overcome all the schemes of the enemy. He has given us authority to chase away demons, to heal the sick and give sight to the blind. He has given us such a great hope so that we can show the lost his great light in all the dark corners of this world and in their lives. We are not a defeated or suffering people. May Jesus be glorified in our lives as we push through everything to break out into victory with this living hope we have discovered through God. When you can honestly say that Jesus is your everything and you are willing to lose all other things in your life, then you will know what is real hope.