The dreams of the heart rely on hope. A young heart has the future ahead of him to have his dreams fulfilled through education and a good job. His place in society will determine his position of fame, or one that the majority embraces. Life goes on filled with accomplishments and sometimes disappointments- dreams fulfilled, and hope deferred, but not until he finds the source for true hope, his life too, is like an ocean wave, going to and fro, without destination, because life is much more than the tangible. There is a part of life that is called spiritual life, where we can be connected to God through the shedding of His blood to redeem us from the disillusion of false hope and place us in relationship with Him, uniting us to Himself through the forgiveness of our sins and delivering us from its power, and establishing us as His children and heirs with YAHSHUA, His Son. Faith, the root of hope, will take us where we can experience the hope that will never fade. It is in the spiritual sphere that we find certainty in this hope.
About two thousand years ago YAHSHUA came and laid down His life to give us hope eternal. He promised us eternal salvation, He promised to be with us to the end of time, He promised victory in our troubles, He promised to come back to take us home to be with Him forever. This is called our blessed hope according to Titus. We live our lives looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah YAHSHUA (Titus 2:13). In Him and through Him all promises will come to pass someday. It is a hope that pumps us up to keep us going amidst circumstances. It is like wings of eagles in a storming day, who applies his strength to fight the obstacles to get where he must go. Paul said, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us (Rome. 8:18). That’s a promise to live by and hope sustained by faith for a beautiful future assuredly to come. It is a hope that will never fade away from our hearts and souls. What is the glory to be revealed to us that Paul is talking about? The glory that will be manifested through YAHSHUA, when He will come to be glorified in us, His saints; He will be marveled at and admired in all who have believed (II Thess. 1:10); …We know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He is (I John 3:2b). Paul said, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first; then we, the living ones who remain, shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always we shall be with the Lord (I Thess. 4:16); we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised imperishable, for this perishable must put on the imperishable and this mortal mut put on immortality, and when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up in and unto victory (I Cor. 15:51-54).
By YAHSHUA’S boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of YAHSHUA Messiah from the dead (I Peter 1:3b). The promise of heaven compels us to “fight the good fight,” encouraged by faith that sparkles hope. We are sustained by hope in God’s promises of a future with Him. Let not your hearts be troubled, YAHSHUA said, you believe on God; believe also on Me. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going to prepare a place for you; and when I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also (John 14:1-3). And this is the hope that will endure to the end of life and time. Standing on His promise will keep us focused on the fact that this world is not our home. Do not, therefore fling away your fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward, for you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away [and enjoy to the full what is promised], for still a little , and the Coming One will come and He will not delay; but the just shall live by faith; and if he draws back and shrinks in fear, My soul has no delight or pleasure in him (Heb. 10:35-38). So brace up your minds; be sober, set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace that is coming to you when YAHSHUA Messiah is revealed; (for) you were purchased with the precious blood of Messiah, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (I Peter 1:13,19). Know therefore, that without faith, there is no hope, without hope there is no peace, without peace it is to be without God, the hope of our salvation. Have faith in God and the hope that will not fade away will be strong in you; His peace that passes all understanding will take you to your heavenly home.
My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a trail that’s winding always upward
This troubled world is not my final home
The things of earth will dim and lose their value
Is we recall, there are borrowed for a while
And things of earth that cause the heart to tremble
Remembered there, will only bring a smile
This weary world with all its toil and struggle
May take its toll of misery and strife
The soul of man is like a waiting falcon
When it’s released it’s destined for the sky
But until then my art will go on singing
Until then with joy I’ll carry on
Until the day my eyes behold the city
Until the day God calls me home
(by Stuart Hamblen)
If you are born- again, rejoice in the blessed hope that is in you;
If not, remember God’s gift of salvation is also for you. Receive Him and the hope that will never fade away will be yours, too.
Light from the Word 