SEARCHLIGHT
Do you hope or do you wish?
SCRIPTURE
So that by two utterly immutable things, the word of God and the oath of God, who cannot lie, we who are refugees from this dying world might have a source of strength and might grasp the hope that he holds out to us. This hope we hold as the utterly reliable anchor for our souls, fixed in the very certainty of God himself in heaven, where Jesus has already entered on our behalf, having become, as we have seen, “High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:18-20 J.B PHILIPPS
SPOTLIGHT
You have probably said this, “I wish this would end!” Most likely you are facing a very trying, ongoing situation. Life is filled with unwanted events. You may have also said, “I hope this gets over soon!” What you are facing may be a nightmare.
There is a vast difference between hoping and wishing. People make wishes but do not make hope. Just before blowing out the candles on a cake, someone usually says, “Make a wish.” You never hear someone say, “Make a hope.”
Don’t confuse hope with wishful thinking. Some people wish their lives away because they “hope” someday to win a lottery. Others “hope” or wish their name will be picked at random to test drive a new car for a year. I once knew a man who “hoped” to win big. He spent his leisure time traveling from one supermarket to another gathering coupons to enter contests. Many people “hope” to go to heaven because they are good living people. All of these people mentioned are wishful thinkers rather than being filled with a confident hope.
You need to CHOOSE HOPE RATHER THAN WISHING. In today’s Scripture focus, the Hebrew author reminded believers that regardless of any sufferings or trials on earth, they could be confident of their personal salvation from sin. Why? Because Jesus provides salvation. He is pictured as life’s best anchor. When you anchor your hope in Jesus Christ, you do not have to wish you will go to heaven. Instead, you have a great confidence and strength you are personally saved from sin by believing Jesus to be your Savior.
Here is another distinction you need to keep in mind. What you HOPE IN is far more important than what you HOPE FOR. On what grounds do you rest your hope? In the animated film “Pinocchio” do you remember Jiminy Cricket singing, “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you.” The wooden toy puppet dreamed of becoming a real boy. As popular as it is, the melodic song is not conveying truth. The song goes on to say how fate will make the wish come true. Making a wish after spotting a shooting star does not produce hope within anyone.
How foolish to put your hope in fate! C.H. Spurgeon said, “Some people were born on the first of April and are always hoping without sense or reason. Their ship is to come home; they are to dig up a pot of gold, or to hear something to their advantage. Poor sillies, they have wind on the brain and dream while they are awake. A man ought to hope within bounds of reason, and the promises of the good old Book. Hope leans on an anchor, but an anchor must have something to hold by and hold to. A hope without grounds is a tub without a bottom, a horse without a head, a goose without a body, a shoe without a sole, a knife without a blade.”
What you hope for in life needs to be grounded by what you hope in. What you hope for is only as certain as what you hope in. What you hope in is where you put your trust. Today’s Scripture focus also teaches that God gives you an incomparable hope to ground yourself in. God invites you to hope in Him so that you can be sure of what you hope for. God cannot lie and has proved this by giving His Son, Jesus, to be your hope anchor. Anchor your hope in who Jesus Christ is. Hope in God is trustworthy and reliable because of who Jesus said He is and what Jesus said He would do. Jesus said that He is God and that He would die and rise from the dead. If this is true, then this would prove your sin is forgiven and you can have eternal life in heaven. This would also prove that Jesus will be your strength in times of weakness and your confidence in times of trials. Hebrews 6:18.19 points to the truth that Jesus is who He said He is and did what He said He would do.
Make a distinction between everyday hope and divine hope. Everyday hope is the anticipation of a promise being fulfilled. A child may say, “I hope Daddy comes home soon.” When Daddy comes home the child’s hope becomes reality. Divine hope is confidently expecting what God promises. Whatever God promises in the Bible regarding life - eternal life, love, joy, purpose, peace, provision, power, strength during trials, wisdom etc…you can hope for. Do you have the hope of heaven? Are you looking forward to seeing loved ones? Right now, are you living an unsettled, confusing life? You need divine supernatural hope. Anticipate receiving what God declares. Your hope is not crossing your fingers and wishing. Neither is it knocking on wood. You can hope for something because you have hope in someone who is beyond human, namely Almighty God who loves you.
God promises goodness to anyone whose hope is in Him. See Psalm 62:5, Lamentations 3:25 and Isaiah 40:31. God takes great pleasure in everyone who puts their hope in Him. [Psalm 147:11] When you put your hope in Jesus you can be sure you will receive what you hope for.
SOMETHING TO DO
Pray and ponder about the following questions:
- When did you stop wishing and begin hoping in Jesus to save and sustain you?
- How have you been blessed by putting your hope in Jesus Christ? Jeremiah 17:7 states, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, who’s confidence is in Him.”
- Check out Psalms 25:5,21 Proverbs 10:27,28 and Psalms 42:5,11; 43:5.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, I put my hope in You. What I hope for comes from You and what You have done for me. Thank you for salvation, strength, stability, and so much more. Your mercies and blessings are new every morning. You are the God who gives hope because You are the God of hope! You are my anchor for living. Thank you, Jesus! AMEN