The God of Hope

There are always situations that look hopeless. I spoke this week to a wife facing the difficult battle of her husband fighting cancer. I spoke with a young lady living in an impoverished situation. I was also privy to a conversation by a graduating senior wondering how college tuition will get paid for in the fall.

These situations and many others just like it appear hopeless. We serve a God of hope. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." [Rom 15:13]

In whatever you are facing today, you can face it with hope as well as joy and peace. God has those things in abundance for needy souls like ours. Hope can also be translated "confident expectation." Our hope is rooted in this truth; God is always working. [John 5:17] We have hope because God is working in ways we cannot see or fathom.

Let me illustrate. After months of praying by many people, Paradise Independent School District hired a new Athletic Director from outside the district. Our one coach who applied for that job but was not given the position interviewed elsewhere and was just about to take a new position when the new Athletic Director resigned unexpectedly. This left the Superintendent and School Board scrambling at a school board meeting the same day. By the end of that meeting our Defensive Coordinator and Head Baseball Coach was named the new Athletic Director. I had spoken with and prayed with he and his wife about their future. They both trusted God and were willing to follow Him wherever He led. None of us saw things unfolding the way they did a week ago. God is the God of hope even when doors appear closed.

There is hope with God. Today, in the middle of your tumultuous life there is still hope with God. There may be consequences from a life of rebellion against God but there is the hope of forgiveness and restoration. There is the hope of answered prayers. There is the hope that God is always at work. There is peace that God is not finished working on us. [Phil 1:6] He began a great work in salvation in us and He will be faithful to complete that great work to the end.

After two full years of praying and waiting Brenda and I stand on the edge of purchasing our third home. Like the other two we have had to step out on faith. Like the other two we fully expect God will come through as we have sought to follow His leadership. We are supposed to close on selling our house in Seminole in mid-June and close on purchasing a house here in mid-July. Yes, God is at work. We need your prayers as we trust God through this process.

I have hope in God. You too can hope in God. He has given us front row seats to watch Him do bewildering things that defy our imagination. All I can say is glory to God and praise to His name for the hope He has given.