Hope in the Lord

“Be strong and take heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.”
Psalm 31:24

Notice the object of our hope is God, Himself. We are not to hope in riches, in other people, in health, in careers, in ourselves, in hope itself (positive thinking), or even in what God can do for us. No, our hope is in the Lord. For us to hope in the Lord, we must know the Lord and His character. This should be the pursuit of our lives – knowing God – through Bible reading, investigating His work in the lives of others throughout history, through prayer, through His track record in our own lives. Who is this God?

In Romans 4:17-18 where we see Abraham’s hope in God against the hope (hopelessness) of this world, we read that his hope was in the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. This hope led Abraham to not only make love to his barren wife and hope for a son, but also to later take that son to Mount Moriah and be willing to offer him as a sacrifice. God had promised generations to that son, so God would raise him from the dead if God chose for Abraham to kill him. Well, we know the end of that story. God provided for Himself a ram for sacrifice and Abraham’s obedience was reckoned to him as righteousness.

Only a hope in the character and promises of God could have moved a loving father to take such drastic steps. But what about me? What have I placed my hope in? Hope for a medical cure? No. Hope for a stress free, trouble free existence here on earth? No. Hope for enough money to buy me the best of everything? No. My hope is in the Lord. The Lord who made heaven and earth. The Lord who sits upon His throne and reigns victorious. The lord who has gone forth into heaven to prepare a place for me. The lord who will lead and guide me through this garbage dump of Satan’s world and raise me up to stand in white for all eternity.

What is the object of your hope?