Seven Devotions on

Hope
By Marsha Iddings

Copyrighted 2011
 Hope #1

Heb 11:1 ¶ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.

I recently got a tee shirt for my birthday that has printed on the front, "HOPE...it's a
choice" and on the back it says, "My illness is invisible but my HOPE shines through". It
is promoting National Invisible Illness Awareness Week the second week in September.
This has spurred me on to think about hope, and what my hope is. I plan to do a short
series of devotionals over the next few weeks on hope.

Many times I have let circumstances get me down and my hope has not shined through. I
struggle with this constantly because my nature is to be melancholy. My hope (no pun
intended) is that this shirt will help me to remember that even though my circumstances
might not be good I can still let hope shine through and encourage others by it.

The Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. Faith springs from hope. When the Bible talks about hope it is talking about
certainty, not just an "I hope so" kind of thing that may or may not happen.

Philippians 3:20-21 says, "For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence
also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that
it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is
able even to subdue all things unto himself."

One day God will change our broken down diseased bodies to be like his glorious body.
This is one of the things that is not yet seen, but which I earnestly hope for. It is a
certainty. It will happen. God promised it.

When circumstances are hard, try to remember that it won't always be this way. There is
an end...a glorious end for God's people and there is HOPE!

Dear Father, I thank You that You have given me hope for the future that no man or
circumstance can take away. Help me to let my hope shine through the tough times of my
life. Amen
 Hope #2

Titus 2:11-14 ¶ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.

As I was thinking about hope again this week, I was reminded of an old hymn.

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' Name."

In this verse we have the whole reason for our hope. Christ gave himself for us to
redeem us from the curse of sin. It was the grace of God that brought salvation through
Christ. It is the grace of God that saves us, not our own righteous works. God's grace
teaches us to live righteously as a result of what God does in our hearts through salvation.
Salvation is by grace and good works are the outward fruit of what God has already done
in us.

God helps us along on this road to righteous living. The verses above says that Christ
gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity, but we often overlook the part that
says, "...and purify unto himself a peculiar people...". The Bible speaks of the purifying
of silver and gold:

Zechariah 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine
them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my
name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The
LORD is my God.

Did you see the part where God says He will bring them through the fire? Purification is
a painful process. It can take place when we go through trials of various kinds. Just like
the impurities of the silver and gold that come to the surface and can then be removed
when the metal is heated by the fire, so God takes us through the fire of trials so that the
impurities of our lives can come to the surface and be dealt with.

As we go through this purification process we need to remember that we have a blessed

hope to look forward to in the future... the glorious return of God and our Saviour Jesus!

Dear Father, These are wonderful truths to meditate on. Give us grace as we are purified
here on earth and patience as we wait for Your blessed return. Amen.
 Hope #3

Hebrews 6:19-20 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and
which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus,
made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

In part two of this series on hope, I talked about the hope of salvation and the blessed hope of
Christ's return. Our verse tells us that this hope is an anchor of the soul. This anchor reaches in
behind the veil.

In the Old Testament Jewish temple there was a heavy thick veil that separated the holy place
from the Most holy place where God's presence dwelt. No one was allowed in this place except
for the High Priest who went in there once a year to atone for the sins of the people. Hebrews 9:7
tells us:

But into the second (Most Holy Place) went the high priest alone once every year, not without
blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

There was only one High Priest at a time. Another was not put into office until the one before
died. When Christ came and made the supreme sacrifice for our sins on the cross and rose again
from the dead, God made Him an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. God
effectively abolished the need for earthly priests when He made Christ our High Priest for ever.
Hebrews 7:24 says,

But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. {or, which
passeth not from one to another}

At Christ's death the veil in the temple was torn in two.

Matthew 27:50-51 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the
ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom;
and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Christ entered the Most Holy Place, offering up His own blood to atone for our sins. The veil was
torn open making the way for us to come into God's presence through the righteousness of Christ.
This should bring great comfort and hope to us as we meditate on these truths.

The second, third and fourth verses of the old hymn, "The Solid Rock", says,

"When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest upon unchanging grace;
In every rough and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, his covenant, his blood support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay.
When I shall launch in world's unseen, O may I then be found in him;
Dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne."

Dear Father, The words to the hymn says it all. It's Your unchanging grace that is my anchor
through all the storms of life. I pray that my readers also have this anchor for their souls. Amen.
 Hope #4

Romans 5:1-5¶ Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we
stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in
tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience;
and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

This whole passage of scripture is rich with hope! Because the grace of God justifies us
through faith in Christ Jesus , we have hope and this hope will not disappoint us because
it is all tied up in the love of God and His glory. We may go through tough times in our
lives, but God will use these to produce patience, character (as the NKJV renders it) and
hope in our lives. Perhaps you wonder, how can tough times produce hope? It has been
said that the troubles of this life wean us off the pleasures of this world and point us
toward God and heaven. If we can get our eyes off our earthly circumstances and focus
them toward heavenly things...toward Christ, then we will have hope. When people can
see that we have an eternal hope in spite of our circumstances, it will bring glory to God
and we can rejoice.

Hope looks to the future and keeps its eyes on the prize of the high calling of God.
Philippians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus.

Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) was a great Puritan preacher. Here is what he says about
hope:
"Trust and hope are often taken in the same sense, though a distinction betwixt
them hath sometimes its use. Faith looks to the word promising, hope the thing
promised in the word; faith looks to the authority of the promiser, hope especially
to the goodness of the promise, faith looks upon things as present, hope as to
come hereafter. God as the first truth, is that which hope rests on. Trust or
confidence is nothing else but the strength of hope. If the thing hoped for be
deferred, then of necessity, it enforces waiting, and waiting is nothing else but
hope and trust lengthened."
Our hope rests in God. He is faithful. Press on!
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for
he is faithful that promised;)

Dear Father, You are faithful. We trust in Your promises. Our hope is in You. Amen.
 Hope #5
1Peter 1:3- 5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through
faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

I've discovered that hope is a reoccurring theme throughout the Bible and especially in
the Epistles. The hope we have in Christ is active and alive. It's not a dead hope. It's a
"lively hope". Christ rose from the dead to give us hope beyond the grave. For those of us
who have been saved by the grace and mercy of God, this is what keeps us going. God
has promised us an inheritance that will not be lost to corruption. In fact, it's in heaven
now, reserved just for us.

Another thing that makes this hope a living hope is the fact that it is God's power that
keeps us through faith unto salvation. Ephesians 2:8- 9 says, " For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast." It's the grace of God through faith that saves us and it's the power of God
that keeps us saved, not our own works. All of this is a gift from God. I am so thankful
that it's not my own good works that saves me or keeps me saved because if it was I
would be in a world of hurt. Isaiah 64:6 tells us, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and
all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities,
like the wind, have taken us away." And then in Romans 3:23 it says, "For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" My own righteous works are like filthy rags
beside the holiness of God. There is no way I can even come close to doing enough to
make myself worthy of His salvation because even my best works are tainted with sin.
So, in light of this fact, that makes the hope I have in Christ a very "lively hope" because
without God's gift of grace, faith and keeping power, I would be dead in trespasses and
sins. Ephesians 2:1 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;"

How about you? What is your hope? Is it living or dead? Do you have the hope
(certainty) of sins forgiven and a home in heaven? If not, I pray that God will bless you
with the gift of faith in His dear Son so that you too can have this "lively hope".

Dear Father, I am amazed at Your love for a sinner like me. I praise You for the hope that
You have given me. Help me to walk in that hope even when circumstances are difficult.
Amen.
 Hope #7

1Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an
answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness
and fear:
In the last devotion we learned not only are we to give the reason for our hope, but we are
to do it with meekness and fear. It says to “...be ready always to give an answer to every
man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you...” God will do the rest as you are
faithful to give the reason of your hope to them. So often, we get caught up in the idea
that we have to convince people to turn to Christ. The result is usually less than desirable
when we try to do the Holy Spirit's work. Arguments and debates on theology and
doctrine ensue and we become less than meek and fearful in our approach. I know. I've
been there and done that.
The idea of fear in our approach to sharing our hope with people intrigues me. The
Greek word for fear here is phobos which means literally, “from a primary phebomai (to
be put in fear); alarm or fright: --be afraid, + exceedingly, fear, terror.”(Strong’s Greek
Lexicon) We know that we are not to be afraid of telling people where our hope lies.
Acts 4:13,29,31 all speak of the boldness of the Apostles to speak the word of God. We
know from this that our verse isn't telling us to be timid. I think the idea here may be
two-fold. We are to fear their eternal condition and we are to be in fear of the holiness of
the God we serve.
Isaiah, at the realization of God's holiness said, "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone;
because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips:
for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5) Remembering the
holiness of God, we need to use our words carefully, allowing God to guide us in what
we say so we don't resort to saying things that are not needful. Colossians 4:5-6 tells us to
“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be
always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every
man.
It's an awesome responsibility to live in such a way that our lives reflect the hope we
have in Christ. Recently, there have been circumstances that have arisen in which I have
shamefully, taken matters into my own hands instead of living out the hope I have in
Christ. I am being convicted by God of the fact that my reactions often are less than holy
and do not reflect hope in Christ.
I leave you with this quote from Nancy Missler. "What we must understand is not what
God is doing (why has He allowed this?), but what God expects from us." (emphasis
mine) He expects us to put Him first in our hearts and be ready to give an answer for the
hope we have as a result.
Dear Father, I confess I have failed so many times in this. I pray that You will help me to
do better in the future and thank You for Your forgiveness. Amen.