{"id":3085,"date":"2015-10-11T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2015-10-11T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3085"},"modified":"2015-08-10T17:06:03","modified_gmt":"2015-08-10T22:06:03","slug":"choose-to-have-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3085","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Have Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Year of Choices…<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara\u2019s Banter at\u00a0www.barbdahlgren.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Romans<\/a><\/p>\n

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There are times in life when our circumstances seem so daunting it feels hopeless.\u00a0 Yet as Christians we never need to feel as if there is no hope because our God is a God of hope.<\/p>\n

Paul prayed for the early church to be filled with hope:\u00a0 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)\u00a0 Hope is even one of the big three Christian principles mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:13:\u00a0 faith, hope, and charity.\u00a0\u00a0 So hope must be pretty important.<\/p>\n

When the world thinks of hope it is usually wishful thinking.\u00a0 People hope they have a good day or hope to win the lottery.\u00a0 But hope from a spiritual perspective is not wishful thinking.<\/p>\n

The Old Testament word for hope is \u201cyachal\u201d and means to wait or be patient.\u00a0 The Greek word for hope in the New Testament is a little different.\u00a0 It is \u201celpis\u201d which means favorable and confident expectation.\u00a0 We aren\u2019t just waiting, we are confident our wait will reap positive results.<\/p>\n

Why is hope important?\u00a0 Believe it or not, hope is as necessary to the human spirit as oxygen is to the physical body.\u00a0 When people lose hope they are overcome with despair and lack of purpose.\u00a0 Without hope we lose all desire to go on.\u00a0 Our problems overwhelm us. \u00a0Not having hope can literally destroy our lives.<\/p>\n

There is a lot of pain, tragedy, trauma, and suffering in this world which can lead to feelings of hopelessness \u2013 if we don\u2019t have God in our lives. (Ephesians 2:12)\u00a0 Those without God don\u2019t understand that the problems of this world are temporary.\u00a0 Even death is a temporary condition. (1 Thessalonians 4:13)<\/p>\n

Where does this kind of hope come from?\u00a0 As Christians, our hope comes from Christ living in us. (Colossians 1:27)\u00a0 Christ is our hope. (1 Timothy 1:1)\u00a0 So our hope is connected with our relationship with God.<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 When Jesus died and was resurrected we were \u201cbegotten to a living hope.\u201d \u00a0(1 Peter 1:3-5) \u00a0We have an inheritance that will not fade away.\u00a0 Our hope is blessed assurance that everything God has told us is true.\u00a0 We know salvation is a done deal. We don\u2019t have to wonder about it.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to doubt it.\u00a0 We can be confident about that!\u00a0 Everything God promised us is true and God cannot lie. (Titus 1:2)<\/p>\n

\"Hebrews<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bible says that hope is strong and trustworthy anchor for our soul. (Hebrews 6:18-19) What does an anchor do?\u00a0 When the boat drifts a little this way or that way the anchor tugs it back, and keeps it centered, keeps it steady.\u00a0 We needed to be anchored to our living, loving God so we don\u2019t drift away.<\/p>\n

Much is said in the Bible about Christian trials and suffering.\u00a0 And although it\u2019s not something we like to think about, trials and suffering happen to all of us at one time or another.\u00a0 Hope helps us make it through the hard times because hope is not just wishful thinking that everything will turn out all right.\u00a0\u00a0 Hope is patiently waiting on God with confidence and expectation for His will to be done.<\/p>\n

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Suggestions for practicing this choice:<\/strong><\/p>\n