I read a reflection recently about hope and then heard a song about hope. And it got me to wondering how the average person would define hope. What is hope? That’s not the proper question, though.
Who is hope?
That’s the right question to ask because hope is a Person, and His name is Jesus. Hope is only real when all of you and your desires are placed squarely at His feet.
Don’t see Him? He’s there, on the cross. He’s there, face down on the ground asking His Father to spare His life, if it’s God’s will. He’s there tied to a post being savagely beaten; He’s there, amidst the crowd saying, “the Kingdom of God is among you.” He’s in that barn animals’ feeding trough shivering in the cold. And He’s here now, as He promised, “with you always, until the end of the age.” And He’s here just as the angel promised to His mother Mary, “Emmanuel” (God with us).
Jesus is our hope.
When everything around us is chaos or unjust or stupidity, irrationality, defensiveness, anger, hubris, malice, disdain, working to strip us of our dignity and our freedom, Jesus is with us. He not only walked the walk of all those things and more, He walks with us still. He promises us that in His Father’s House there is plenty of room. He wants us with Him in eternity.
That’s our hope.
Surrendering our lives and our hearts to Jesus brings us that hope. The peace within us, that God provides, will see us through anything and on to eternal joy. You don’t have to go far to find Him. He’s right next to you right now. He’s waiting for you to open the door to your heart and let Him in?
Where is hope?
Hope is here. It always has been.
Drowning in Lemonade 