We have to Decide Who is the Source of our Hope—R Fritz
I was watching a program on the television when they talked about having hope for two weeks. I thought to myself, “what are they talking about.” It was about a couple whose child was kidnapped and they had two weeks before they would know if the kidnappers would kill their child. Man’s definition of hope is tied to trusting in man and what we can do and putting a time limit on our hope. Matthew 19:26 says with Jesus speaking But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible”
To those who know Jesus and have a relationship with him “hope” comes from Jesus who is the hope sent from God. Jesus gives us a reason to keep going when everything looks like it is going against us and we cannot change what we believe is coming. Our hope comes from our belief in Jesus knowing what he can do, not counting on what we can do. Hope is something that we believe is beyond what we can do.
Hopelessness is something nobody wants to feel. It is a feeling that nothing will be right, it is us thinking we are in a big hole, and we cannot dig our way out of that hole no matter what we do. What we are doing is letting our feelings direct our path instead us letting the Holy Spirit show who we are. We are not looking in the Spirit, we are in the flesh where we have been most of our life. We go back to what we know and are familiar with. Proverbs 26:11 says, “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” Even though we do not like what we are doing we see it could be worse and are afraid to do something that we do not see as our answer. Fear manipulates us to keep failing day after day until we choose to change. The spirit of fear causes us to think when we should be praying asking God to dig us out of our predicament, showing us the way to fight. We choose not to wait on God but to keep going at it the way we know how and when things do not change it affects our outlook on life.
When we look at the story of Lazarus becoming ill with their sisters Martha and Mary, friends to Jesus, sending a message to tell Jesus they needed him shows a story of hope. Martha and Mary expected Jesus to come immediately, that was what they had hoped for but not what happened. Lazarus died before Jesus got there. Martha and Mary were upset with Jesus not coming right away. They were leaning on their understanding and their hope that Jesus would take care of Lazarus. When Jesus showed up four days later, Jesus called Lazarus out from his grave in a cave. John 11:3-4 says Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” Jesus told his disciples that Lazarus’s sickness was not unto death but for the glory of God. When Jesus showed up his plan was put in action. John 11:40-44 says Jesus saith unto her, “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead were laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.” And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
We do not believe in miracles because we have lost hope. Miracles happen every day maybe not to us because of our thoughts or because we either do not know our God or we have forgotten who God is and what he can do. Miracles are blessings given to us. What is a miracle? It is an extraordinary event that goes against nature, cannot be explained by science and that believers know that God had his hand in the outcome. Two thousand years ago people would not have needed any proof if what they saw was from God. Science tries to explain miracles away now. Jesus did many miracles during his time on earth. He used his disciples to show us healings, signs and wonders through the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:19 says “Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” That same Spirit of God lives in us and can use us to do whatever God wants us to do. It requires us to be surrendered to the Holy Spirit so God controls our thoughts or actions. God has an army of people he could use if we would completely surrender to the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus died and returned overcoming death was the hope for all those that choose, obey and follow him and the only hope given through the Holy Spirit for us to live forever with Jesus when we die from this life to everlasting eternal life. 1 Peter1:3-4 says “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 death, 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,” Our choice to be with Jesus is just one of many choices we will have to make like following, obeying, and changing to be like him. We need the Holy Spirit to teach us who God is and his ways.
Death is not the end of our life thanks to Jesus we can live on into eternity. Jesus is the hope we will get through life. We have to get our head and heart into our life experience and surrender and remember how we win this part of our life. We forget how we overcame it and go back to ourselves in the heat of our battle. Prayer gets us back to Jesus and gets our heart back on track. Hope is the belief that God will come through in our situation. With that hope we can live our life knowing that our God will do what is best for us. God Bless.
