1-8-2016

 Good Morning All!!   

        Psalm 33:18; “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,”

      “I hope things go well.”  “I hope my team wins the game.”  “I hope they have strawberry ice cream for dessert.”  We use the word hope a lot.  Many years ago, the presidential election was a lot about hope.  One of the candidates was from Hope, Arkansas and he would often say, “I always believed in a town called Hope.”  We all want hope; we all want something to cling to we want something that we can find comfort; we want and desire hope.

    If we spend so much time there, what is hope anyway?  In its simplest form, hope is an expectation of something happening in the future.  We are waiting for something to happen and we hope for a specific outcome.  I hope it is sunny tomorrow.  I hope we have soup for lunch.  I hope my magazine comes in the mail tomorrow.  That is what hope is, it is the expectation of something happening, something that will benefit or please us.

    Yet hope is so much more than that. Hope involves a larger story, as the past, the present, and the future are woven together in a delicate, life-changing balance.  True hope ties all three of these together.  To hope for something that is entirely out of the ordinary is really no hope.  To say, “I hope to see a purple cow tomorrow” really is not a true hope.  There are no purple cows so to hope to see one is fruitless.  True hope really is dependent upon our past experiences.  So, if on some Saturday mornings, my wife makes me blueberry pancakes for breakfast; I can hope for blueberry pancakes next Saturday.  It is based on past experiences.  There have been past times when we would have blueberry pancakes for breakfast so it is a reasonable hope, or expectation, that we would have them again.

    So that is how hope, an expectation of a future event is tied to the past but what about hope and the present; how do they interact?  Well let’s say today is Friday and all I have for breakfast is a piece of dried toast; I can either grumble about it or I can look forward, in hope, to the blueberry pancakes on Saturday.  Hope has changed my outlook for today because I have hope for tomorrow.

    As we look to God, we can take our hope as a certainty.  We know what God has done for us in the past.  He has created us, provided for our sustenance and support but more importantly he redeemed us through Jesus.  Because of this event in the past, we can be certain of our hope for the future. God has promised us salvation and eternal life; that is our hope.  With that hope in hand, we do not have to fear the events of today or tomorrow for we know that God has already provided for our needs and cares.  We can rest assured of his love, mercy and grace that we have hope.

Gracious Father, in you we have hope.  In you we know that our life is secure.  We know nothing will separate us from your loving kindness.  Through your gracious mercy, we have peace knowing the hope of salvation rests in your hands.  We have your comfort.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret