Gilland: The reason for hope

There are many words in our English language, but one that is used universally is the word “hope.” This word runs the range from a wishful idea (i.e. “I hope he calls me back”) to a basic foundation of our lives (i.e. “My hope is rooted in my faith”).

Doctor’s tell us that a hopeful outlook can affect everything from our mental stability to our physical health!

There are few words more important to our everyday lives than this simple, four-letter word. We hope for success in our studies, we hope for good grades, we hope our children stay healthy and we hope we will be successful in our jobs.

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Hope is tied to both our emotions and our confidence. Yes, it is a pretty big word in our lives.

But to really grasp our hope is to know the definition of and the reason for our hope. If we don’t, then the things for which we hope can be either whimsical or petty, or they could carry rock-solid importance.

I once heard a preacher give a definition of hope as “a constant expectation for good.” Hmm. Another four-letter word.

But in our culture today, to really understand what “good” really is can be downright confusing. Who decides what is “good”?

I believe it is as simple as the phrase uttered by our parents, grandparents, and their grandparents, when they said that the answers to these questions are found in “the good book.” The Bible. The oldest and most-read book in all of history. I am convinced that its pages hold the answers to both hope and what is good.

The Bible teaches us that the ultimate good is God Himself, the very personification of its meaning, the gold standard for what is right, what is true, and what is good.

Pull God out of the picture, and the understanding of “good” becomes a free-for-all. But He is good. And He has invited us to put our hope in HIM.

Psalm 62:5 tells us: “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him” (ESV).

How can we have hope today? Why can we believe that God is good and that we can have a constant expectation for good? The answer is this: God is good, and He is our source for hope. Hope in our daily lives, and hope for all eternity.

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