The Power of Hope

Greater than physically having something in the here and now, hope's power rests in what is yet to come all the while producing great joy and strength for the present.  

Think back to that special vacation you recently had.  The one that you planned for months and months.  For us, it was a trip with the girls about 5 years ago to the United Kingdom.  We spent 9 days traveling from London England to Loch Ness Scotland and nearly every major point in between. Typically I don't like sitting in a car for extended periods of time but this trip proved to be the exception as our eyes were glued to the windshield in awe as we took in the beautiful landscapes and castles.

In order to get reasonably priced airfare, we booked the tickets about 5 months before the trip. Looking back I recall the excitement that we as a family had in anticipation of this wonderful upcoming vacation.  We were about to experience so many first time "moments", things that we could only imagine in our minds.  As we patiently waited the several months leading up to the point at which we pulled out of our driveway, heading for the airport, we held on to great anticipation of the adventure that laid before us.  It was a constant point in our future that became a reference to all the other near term events.  Things could almost be split into two categories; those that would happen before and after our vacation. 

Before we knew it, we were nose up rolling down the runway at Dulles with two bright eyed girls experiencing the powerful thrust of leaving the ground for the first time, an experience that I enjoy to this very day.  It seems as though we blinked our eyes and there we were standing at the rental counter in London England getting ready to brave the busy rush our morning traffic, and might I add, driving on the wrong side of the road and as the driver, on the wrong side of the car!  No doubt this proved to be one of the best vacations we've ever taken.  The freedom to explore new areas, see new sites, eat new food all while doing it with the ones you love - absolutely priceless. 

Throughout the vacation, I found myself constantly counting the remaining days left.  It was as if I was torn between the excitement of discovering the next day's adventure while simultaneously lamenting over the time already gone. Our vacation was being "consumed".  It's value was diminishing day by day.  A horrible way to look at it but true none the less.  

Now don't get me wrong, it was indeed an awesome vacation however there was this sense that it had greater value in the days and weeks leading up to it than it did "in the moment", in the actually having it, in the actually living it.  Before it began, it was 100% available, completely whole, and all together unexperienced.   

I'm sure you too have experienced this to some degree.  The anticipation of a new car, a new phone, new clothes, etc.  As soon as we were in possession of "it", that feeling of diminishing value began to set in.  It's the timeless trick of the enemy, that I might find value in the things that I have or the things that I do.  How can something finite and tangible bring about in me an infinite and transcending joy?  The simple answer is.... it can not!  Our own experiences testify to this truth. 

What if instead I was able to find my value in something other than myself?  Something, intangible, infinite and unchanging?  What if this "something" desired to live its life through and in me?  

For the Christian, what is the substance of our hope?  What is both the present and future value of this hope?  What is the durability and fruit of this hope?  

Our hope is one who's foundation is rooted in a brand new life, Christ's new resurrected life, manifested unto my own new life, through faith.  It's an inheritance locked away in heaven that can NEVER perish. It's strength is so strong that it can produce great rejoicing even in the midst of trials and suffering.  It's eternal value is one that surpasses even that of the most precious metals refined by the fire, like gold.  The final revelation of the object of our hope will result in praise, glory and honor. Though we can't physically see and touch what it is that we hope in now, it yet produces in us inexpressible joy as we are the active and daily recipient of the gift of salvation.  Does this all sound to good to be true? Read it for yourself in the following:

1 Peter 1:3-9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

HOPE
A beautiful gift that our creator put within us that when awakened through faith, produces inexpressible joy in the life of the believer regardless of the circumstances we've faced past, present or future.  Hope's power, greater than having something in the here and now, rest's in what's yet to come.  Something that is constantly before us, that is never consumed, producing the very life today that it promises tomorrow. 

Selah...

------Other great verses about hope------

Romans 8:24-25

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Romans 5:3-5

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Tribulation > Perseverance > Character > Hope

Definitions:

Tribulation - great trouble or suffering

Perseverance - steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success

Character - the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.

Hope - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen