The Strength of Our Hope...Tuesday

1/5/16

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

to the strangers scattered throughout 
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
 through sanctification of the Spirit, 
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: 
Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

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 dead
1 Peter:1-3

The strength of our hope rises or falls on how dependable we perceive our expectation to be. The reasons we believe our expectation to be dependable are thus decisive to whether we will be motivated.

Ours is a living hope because Jesus Christ and the Father are alive. They exert sovereign control, and They cannot lie. Because our hope is revealed, grounded, sustained, and directed by God, we can know that all things work together for good for those who are the called and love God.

And we know that all that happens to us 

is working for our good if we love God 

and are fitting into his plans. 

(Romans 8:28). 

Our hope, then, should not be ephemeral wishes or dreams based on wishy-washy sentimentality, but the solid realities of God and His Word. Our hope flows from an inexhaustible Source, and therefore no trial should ever quench our optimism for future good. Hope is our response to His work in us expressed in trust, patience, endurance, and eagerness to continue.

"For us Christians, where the Cross is,there is hope, always. If there is no hope, we are not Christian. That is why I like to say, do not allow yourselves to be robbed of hope because this strength is a grace, a gift from God which carries us forward with our eyes fixed on Heaven.This is Christian hope: that the future is in God's hands."
                                                               Pope Francis

Corinne Mustafa