Thankful for Hope
“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?” Romans 8:24
Humanity is a hopeful bunch. Despite great odds against us, time and time again, people seem to rise out of the ashes by holding onto hope. Hope is something unseen, but it lives within our dreams. Where does hope come from? It is implanted into the soul of every human being from our Creator. We were created to hope.
When hope is lost and dreams die, sometimes people die too. Tragically, when hope disappears, people want to disappear. Life loses meaning, or it is too painful to continue. A life without hope brings despair. One can see it all around today — many hurting people have lost hope.
What brings people hope? Paul says in Romans 8:23 it is those who have been given the “first fruits of the Spirit, who groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons (and daughters), and the redemption of our bodies.” Hope is from God.
The fruit of the Spirit dwells within the believer, helping us in our weakness. Even when we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words (v. 26). The Spirit gives us hope for the life to come.
Faith gives us hope to wait patiently, knowing God’s promises will be fulfilled either in this life or the next. In the meantime, we must share this hope with a dying world. This gives us purpose — to share the hope we have in Christ. We must share Him with all of those willing to hear. For “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32.)
With God, there is always hope!
