Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
INSIGHT
-Hope in Hebrew is written as yachal which means to expect, look forward to, wait, prospect or anticipate. The word hope has been used in the definition of faith intimating that there is a thin line between the two words. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1), & we hope for that which we do not see, eagerly waiting for it with perseverance (Rom 8:24-25). Further, faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit which propels us spiritually in the hope of eternal life through Christ. We hope in the evidence of things not yet seen by believing in the death & resurrection of Christ for the redemption of our sins, & new life in Him. God has good thoughts for us, thoughts of peace & not evil, to give us a future & hope in new life through His Son Jesus Christ. God calls us to wait on Him in prayer & thanksgiving for He can do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ever ask or imagine.
PRAYER
Abba Father our God of hope, we thank You for the graces You have bestowed upon us this beautiful day. We humbly ask You Jesus to cleanse us from all unrighteousness & sanctify us & our families by Your precious blood. You are worthy Lamb of God for You were slain & have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe, tongue, people & nation. Receive all our praise Lord. Father You know our thoughts, petitions & heart desires even before we present them to You, answer all our prayers according to Your will. Thank You for Your everlasting love & for always having good thoughts for us Lord, help us to rest in You for You have already granted us peace, a future & hope according to Your merciful love. Amen
Psalms 31:24
“Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD.”
INSIGHT
-God calls us to wait on Him & not despair amidst challenges or when trouble assails; for He will renew our strength. He has commanded us to be strong, of good courage & not be afraid nor dismayed, for He will be with us wherever we go (Josh 1:9). In His merciful love, God promises that those who remain steadfast in good works & wait on Him will not be disappointed for their labor in Him is not in vain (1 Cor 15:58).
PRAYER
We thanks You Lord our Father for giving us hope & strength to push on life with Your grace. You have promised us Lord that our labour in You is not in vain, help us to persevere in faith & patience in all situations Lord. Be with those who are mourning the lose of their loved ones, heal those who are sick, map out a way for all those who are unemployed & struggling in business, provide for those who are facing financial difficulties, unite the unmarried in Your love, provide seed for all those who are unable to bear children, guide those who are struggling with marital issues, heal those who are undergoing depression, help our children to hold fast obedience & direct us all in the way we should go merciful King. Level the mountains for us & make all the crooked paths straight Lord, we trust in You. Strengthen our hearts always Father so that we may never despair or loose hope in life. Blessing, honor, glory & power belongs to You Father forever & ever. Amen
Job 31:24-25
“If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘ You are my confidence’; If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much.”
INSIGHT
-Job in protest speaks of his integrity in this whole chapter. He alleges that he has not placed his hope in riches & wealth but in God. This is a caution against placing our confidence in money which is fleeting, a form of idolatry & draws us away from God. In 1 Tim 6:17 the rich are commanded to neither be haughty nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. God blesses us with wealth so that we can be stewards & give where required most. Others place their hope in idols (Hab 2:18-19), foreign powers (Isa 20:5), military might (Isa 31:1-3 ; Hosea 10:13), princes (Psalm 146:3-7) & human beings (Jer 17:5-8). We are called to place our hope in the Sovereign God Who owns all things & remain humble despite our increase in wealth.
PRAYER
We thank You Abba Father for Your blessings upon our lives, we place all our trust in You. We know that all power, riches & wealth belong to You Lord & we are only stewards, guide us in all our custodial duties. Remove all pride from our hearts we humbly beseech You Almighty Father & help us to remain humble even as we increase in wealth. We place all our hope in You Lord, receive all our adoration & praise. Amen
Romans 15:13
“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.”
INSIGHT
-The Holy Spirit helps us to abound in hope believing in Jesus Christ our Savior that we may partake of His fullness of joy & peace. Just like the Holy Spirit gives us hope, Christ is also our source of hope through righteousness which He gives us freely through His grace. In this chapter we are called to edify one another through Gods’ love. To carry each another’s burdens especially during times of tribulation which yield perseverance, perseverance character & character hope in Christ Jesus. Placing our hope in Christ yields peace in our lives & comfort in the knowledge of having eternal life with Christ when He comes again.
PRAYER
You are our hope & salvation Lord, in You only we put our trust. Fill our hearts always with hope Holy Spirit even when we face tribulations that we may persevere & find victory. We hope in Your salvation Father shower us with Your grace so that we may conquer all things through faith that yields eternal life. Unite us all Jesus that we may hold fast love for one another through edification in the realization that we are all Your children. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ & the love of God & the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now & forever more. Amen
1 Peter 1:13-16
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
INSIGHT
-In holiness God desires that we make the right choices in obedience to His word leading to holiness. Holy living begins in the mind when we think of pure things in sobriety & are renewed in the mind gradually to shun from our former lusts. A persons thoughts determines the kind of life they live & it is the best way to deal with sin. Finally, to be holy we are called to fully fix our hope on the grace of the revelation of Jesus Christ Who is holy & helps us to overcome all evil.
SUMMARY
-Hope in Hebrew is written as yachal which means to expect, look forward to, wait, prospect or anticipate. In our imperfect human nature; we all needs hope at some point in our lives. An emphasis has therefore been provided to edify one another through love of Christ for one another (Rom 15:2). Though imperfect; We have faith in the resurrected Christ Who gives life to our mortal bodies yielding the hope of eternal life with Him one day. Sometimes when everything is okay; one might grow weary in prayer & fellowship with Christ but when we face tribulation, we learn to perseverance & we are mounded in character as our hope in Christ matures. During such times, some people may develop illnesses such as ulcers, gastritis, depression etc, but having the knowledge of Christ; one tends to hold onto Him in the hope of deliverance for He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. Those who don’t know Christ or have lost hope place their trust in money, idols, power etc, which can also be the case during favorable times. The rich are thus commanded to neither be haughty nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy (1 Tim 6:17). Other times Christians may grow weary after praying for a situation to change for a long time but things remain the same. God reminds us not to despair but be of good courage, for He strengthens our hearts when we place our hope in Him (Ps 31:24) & in His time will make everything new. God also reassurances us that He has good thoughts for us, thoughts of peace & not evil, to give us a future & hope (Jer 29:11) & calls us to put all our trust in Him.
PRAYER
We thank You God our Father for this far You have brought us. We know that You have good thoughts for us, thoughts of peace & not evil, to give us hope & a future, we give You all the glory & praise. You are holy Lord, grant us hearts of flesh that we may always be obedient to Your word & remain holy through Your grace. Sanctify us Jesus by Your blood & set us apart merciful Savior. Your word is a lamb to our feet & light to our paths, help us to be the salt & light of the world that we may live according to Your will & others may learn from us for the glory of Your name. We need Your hope always Lord, help us to remain hopeful in Your promise of an everlasting inheritance with You. Your love for us is everlasting Father, we thank You & praise Your name. Amen