Here's a question. What is the one thing everyone needs today? I know that's sort of a vague question in some respects, but I believe that there is one thing everyone needs, everyone is looking for, during this time of deep uncertainty. Hope.
Hope means to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial. To express desire for some good with the expectation of obtaining it. It is the absolute certainty of future good, that something good and worthwhile is on the horizon.
Right now hope is the one thing that appears to be lacking among us. In fact, it seems that we are living in a world of uncertainty. When will this pandemic end? Will it ever end? Has the future of our nation been called into question? While the numbers of those who have died from Covid-19 are readily reported on television and radio, the number of suicides and overdoses have risen exponentially at the same time. There is something more insidious, dare I say, more deadly than a virus spreading like leaven throughout the land.
I have seen more and more infomercials on TV in the last few months, trying to deal with the pervading sense of gloom and despair that has enveloped our nation. They talk about the healthy benefits of positive music, meditation, and the like. They are all designed to try to patch the gloom and despair, the hopelessness, that has descended upon so many of us. But they are simply that; patches. They may help some people in the short-term, but they are like grasping at straws, desperately trying to find the one thing that will serve to bring people out of this pit.
I, and many like me, have found what the rest of the world is still in search of; hope. Peter speaks about this hope in 1 Peter 1:13 after speaking about the salvation that has been made available to all of us through Jesus Christ; "Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Hope, the kind of hope the world is searching for, can only be found in and through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
So many people are carrying the heavy burden of hopelessness with them like a heavy yoke around their neck. In the midst of this seeming hopelessness, Jesus brings the message of real hope; "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). This is the best of news for those who are suffering under the dense weight of hopelessness and despair; hope, real hope, real and lasting hope, is available to all who truly desire it. It is found in God's Son, Jesus Christ.
To those who have already received this hope through giving your life to Jesus Christ, let me remind you of the words found in Hebrews 10:23; "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hope is the anchor that holds us fast through the storms and doubts of this life, until we reach the promised shores on the other side. The apostle Paul said, "For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance" (Romans 8:24-25).
So here's the question. Are you living in fear or in hope? Put your life, place your trust, in Jesus Christ, the source of all hope. Then and only then will you find the peace and the rest you are looking for. Selah.
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