When anyone wants to settle an argument, they make a vow by using the name of someone or something greater than themselves.17 So when God wanted to prove for certain that his promise to his people could not be broken, he made a vow.18 God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed.
We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us.19 This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain and into the most holy place. 20 Jesus has gone there ahead of us, and he is our high priest forever, just like Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:16-20 (CEV)
Hope is a desire for and an expectation that something will happen. It involves trust. Hope is a place of assurance where even the mature disciple can find themselves searching. It isn’t just a question of faith, although that is certainly a key component. But it is trusting God that what He has promised is applicable to my specific situation and that He has given me the assurance that it will happen. Let’s see what I know about my hope in God:
I know that God does not lie. God cannot be who He is and lie or mislead me. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He may be doing some new and exciting things but His character will never change. If I have a hope that God will do something, I have placed my faith and trust in the One that I can count on above all others in my life.
Do I hope for what God has for me? I was reading Luke 24 again the other day and looking at the two disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus after Jesus. “We had hoped that He would redeem Israel.†(Luke 24:21) How often I have said the same! “I had hoped God would provide for me to visit my children this year.†or “I had hoped that God would answer my prayer to heal _______.†I am like those two disciples trudging down the road in disappointment.
It isn’t a lack of faith but maybe, like those Emmaus bound disciples, it is a lack of vision. They thought that Jesus’ mission of redemption was about restoring earthly land to Israel and crushing the Roman rule. Jesus was not about such an limiting task as earthly land. If Jesus had done what the disciples expected the Seven Day War would have occurred 2000 years sooner! He wanted to establish an eternal Kingdom. Often the greatest blessing God gives to me is not answering my prayer when I am not hoping for the right thing.
When I grab on to God’s hope, I will be surprised. Abraham spent a lot of time stressing about having many descendents and doubted God’s ability to begin by giving him a son! Moses hoped to stand in the Promised Land with Aaron and Joshua but ended up standing with Elijah and the transfigured Jesus! The two disciples going to Emmaus thought all was lost for them and that they were breaking bread with a clueless stranger until He handed them broken bread with nail-pierced hands!
To lash myself to the anchor that is Jesus Christ is not obtaining my own personal vending machine. It is walking with my powerful, Almighty Creator and LORD. It is where I can hide under the shadow of His wings and hold on as He may shock the socks off me and then watch my reaction.
My Hope is Built written by Edward Mote (1797-1874) sung at the 2008 Together for the Gospel Conference
