Two years ago I wrote on ‘hope’ seeing it as:
H – Holding
O – Onto
P – Promised
E – Eternity
Many people choose a word for the New Year, and several years ago I did as well. Last year it was grateful, and through this pandemic, being grateful for my blessings was something I leaned upon a great deal to stay faithful and positive.
This year God placed the word HOPE on my heart. I’ll be honest, that makes me a bit nervous. Then I recalled my little formula. Hope is more than wishing. The dictionary says it is to “expect with confidence.” When you and I hold onto the promises of the eternal, then it produces hope. God keeps His promises. He has in the past and He will continue to do so. As I often say, He is there and He cares.
Whatever happens in 2021, I know this to be true and I can cling to it. This is not my home, and this life is not all there is. There is an eternity waiting for me. An existence basking in the love of God, praising the Lamb for His sacrifice, and never experiencing pain, grief, illness, or rejection again.
A social media post asks if it bothers you that this year is saying “2020-won“? No, because God wins. Each and every time. That is a hope we can cling to.
David wrote ,
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” Psalm 31:24.
That is my prayer for you, no matter what this year brings.
The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews stressed:
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we possess, for He who promised is faithful.” (10:23).
Join me in holding onto the promises of God in hope – unswerving, steady, expectant confidence that He has got this. As Paul said, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39). Nothing can snatch us from His hands. Nothing. Not a virus, a secular angry society, an unexpected illness, a job loss, an unfaithful spouse, or the heartbreak of a wayward child.
Amen
By Julie Cosgrove
Used by Permission
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