Hope

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Hope.  This simple yet powerful word has come up quite a bit these past few days in my circle of friends and colleagues.  Struggles with relationships either ending or being strained, not knowing what the future holds for sick loved ones, and for a military acquaintance, the fear of death in a foreign land. All of these real life worries yearn and deeply cry for hope. If you’ve read my other posts this may seem redundant, but hope, true unadulterated, ever-present, and lasting hope can ONLY be found in Jesus, in his steadfast love and promise to shepherd and protect us, leading us to everlasting life with him.

Psalm 23 paints a poignant picture of this hope in times of fear and uncertainty.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2        He makes me lie down in green pastures.
       He leads me beside still waters.
3        He restores my soul.
       He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4     Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
       for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. 

The first line says it all, that because God is with us, and I mean truly with us in the fact that when Jesus ascended into Heaven, we were given the Holy Spirit, we shall have no want or worries.  God cares for us so deeply and intimately that he promises provision.  The next few verses show just that, that the rest he offers and requires us to take is healing and redemptive.  Take a moment to find that pasture, those still waters in your life.  Picture yourself in a meadow on a warm summer day with the sun’s rays gently resting on your skin. Let the sweet fresh scent of the waters fill your nostrils as you rest in the presence of Jesus.  Let him lead you, as the verse says, “in paths of righteousness.” This path is the best for your life, the best hope in finding peace now and forever. It will not be easy because of the temptations, strains, and evil that exists in this world, for Jesus also tells us that, “the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few,” (Matthew 7:13-14) but it will be the most fulfilling and rewarding.

Finally, for those in fear of either the future or of death fear not, God is with you.  While lying on my cot in Baghdad with enemy mortar rounds landing nearby, I prayed fervently for safety. However, this was prayer from fear, which is fine, but what we need is prayer from faith.  David, the author of this psalm, although in danger chose to relinquish fear knowing that God was with him.

Today, give that fear away in exchange for hope.  Kneel at the foot of the cross where Jesus’ blood was spilled, so that we can have an unbroken relationship with God.  Accept his sacrifice fully, understanding that he is the way, the truth and the life.  That no one can enter into relationship with the Father, but through him.


[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 23:1–4.

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