What Should We Hope In?

What Should We Hope In?
written by Chris Baker

Have you ever been on a vacation or holiday before? How about a big vacation, one that you have planned for a long time?  You may have spent months planning the vacation; where it will be, how you will get there, researched the best airfare, researched the best hotel price, planned excursions, places to eat etc. Even though you spent months in anticipation, took months to plan and save, the vacation still ended. Chances are, the vacation ended way too fast! All those months, possibly years, spent in anticipation and it is over before you know it! This example reminds us how fast time actually goes. Even though we may not want time to advance, it does. We may not want the next day, hour, or minute to come but it does. Life is short my friends and it is not getting any longer, actually, quite the opposite. Since that is the reality, what then should we hope in? Let’s turn to Psalm 39 to find out. 

Take a moment and read Psalm 39 by clicking here. I would encourage you to read it in a few different Bible translations. David reminds us that life is fleeting. He refers to life as a breath. Think about that for a moment. Think of all the breaths that you have taken, or will take throughout your life, and life is just one of those breaths. The Bible also describes our life as a mist in comparison to the vast sea. Point being, in comparison to eternity, our lives are very short. 

What do you place your hope in? If it is in wealth, beauty, health and so forth, they will eventually fade away. You are not getting any younger and all the plastic surgery in the world cannot fix that. In spite of all the science, all the wealth, and all the ambition, you cannot not add a single day to your life. These bodies are deteriorating and there is nothing we can do to prevent it. It does not matter how much wealth you acquire because you cannot take it with you when your life expires. What then can you hope in?

David says that his hope is in the Lord. Why? Unlike mortal, material things, the Lord is eternal. He was and always will be. Though these bodies fade away, our souls are eternal! Where friend will your soul eternally rest? Like David, my hope is in the Lord. Jesus says in 1 Peter 1:3-4 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (NIV). My inheritance [salvation] is found in Jesus, therefore, I can hope in an inheritance that will never fade away! Everything else in life will eventually fade away, except, our salvation which is only found in Jesus Christ. This is what we can hope in. This is how we can say, like David, my hope is in you!

What or who will you hope in today? I hope it is Jesus! Do not let another second of this life pass by until you know where your soul will rest. The Bible says that you can begin an eternal life right now, right here, by beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ. There is only place that God wants you to place your hope today and that is in His Son Jesus! 

Please click here, to learn more about beginning a relationship with Jesus. 

Lord, I thank you for the gentle reminder that this life is fading away. This life is only a preparation for a life of eternity. I pray that all would choose to spend their eternity with you. I pray that we may take every opportunity to tell others of how they can spend eternity with you! Thank you for Jesus! Amen.