Have we Hoped in God in vain?

Probing Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, 

but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

As we prepare to celebrate Easter, my thoughts go to those 11 men that spent 3 years walking the earth with Christ. How their hearts must of sank as they met together knowing He had suffered and died. BUT WAIT…reports from Mary and others begin to surface that He is alive! Can you imagine the mixture of doubt and hope they felt?

What joy filled their hearts when that Hope became sight! Move forward a little bit in time and we see them again together, this time watching the Lord of Lords ascend into heaven in a cloud, with a promise of a new Hope…He will come back for all of you!

Acts 1:11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

It has been over 2,000 years and so many have lived and died with the Hope of Christ’s return. Has He failed?

2 Peter 3:1–9…I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created…But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

No failure, God is patient, all those dear saints that left their bodies waiting for Christ’s return are even at this moment safe and secure in the presence of our Lord. God desires as many as want it, to be with Him in eternity, so He waits giving many more that opportunity. What many miss is that this “eternal” Hope is the source of the everyday Hope we need right now! The reality of a Living Hope is what separates it from the “world’s hope.”  As we look at the final point let’s review:

World’s hope: We saw that the world’s hope is Hazardous! It depends on fate.

Living Hope: God’s hope brings Help from on High! We are not even dependant on ourselves! God is the source of our hope.

World’s hope: Opposition! We only see the negative side of trials.

Living Hope: Ouch! We understand that trials hit everyone, yet we can see they bring with them a tremendous opportunity for growth!

World’s hope: “Pot Luck!” Trying to find what can help you through the situation.

Living Hope: Priceless Inheritance! The what does not matter because we know Who is in control and He is an endless fountain of Hope.

H.O.P.E.

With the world’s hope everything is an Effort! The whole system is based on works, which means it is dependant on the individual that is seeking hope. Whether it be a temporal hope that deals with a situation right here and now, or the eternal hope of what happens to me after my body dies…all of it is based on works. 

You might make it through the here and now situations, but no work you do will ever satisfy God’s standard, which is required to live with Him forever. No matter how hard you work...the path will fall short! 

A Living Hope brings an Expectation! This is not a “Just Get By” mentality, nor a getting ahead…“ahead” of what? Based on the knowledge that you possess an eternal Hope that will go into the endless future, you can be excited about what God will do today! No matter the circumstances, no matter the odds, the One Who possesses all power, all opportunities, all outcomes…Possesses YOU! That’s the way to live life!

Psalm 5:3 In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Philip. 1:19-21 For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

The so what: A Living HOPE gives you the power to think like Job: "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” Job 13:15. Can you honestly say that? Don’t trust your circumstance…Trust God!