Week of Hope – Tuesday
Belief, Trust, and Hope
… [T]o believe is beyond intellectual agreement to something. It undeniably denotes a sense of firmness, certainty and reliability. To believe is to firmly entrust yourself to reliable God. This entrustment serves to motivate a person’s action based on their reliance on God’s faithfulness
Deborah L. Roeger, The Power of Hope, pp. 13-14
and His promise(s).
Hope Through the Ages
So at the end of our survey, we can affirm that the messianic hope is one that has remained constant through the ages, first in the Old Testament as God’s people looked forward with increasing
Alden Thompson, Who’s Afraid of the Old Testament God?, p. 152
eagerness to the one who was to come. Then, in the person of Jesus Christ, at least some of the Jewish community recognized the One who had come as their Redeemer. Many rejected this gentle man who said that he had come to die for their sins, but many found in him the source of life. These have carried the good news throughout the world, and the word is still being spread abroad today. We may not find equally convincing all the reasons that have been used through the ages to establish the conviction that Jesus of Nazareth was the embodiment of the Old Testament hope. But we should be able to see how God has used many and varied ways to build faith in the hearts of his people.
Recognizing that God has indeed used a great variety of ways in working with his children has made it possible for me to build my house of faith on more solid rock. Now when the winds blow; I don’t have to be afraid. That has not only been a great relief, but a cause for great joy. Perhaps that is also one of the reasons why I like to think of the hope of the Messiah as the best story in the Old Testament as well as in the New; and indeed anywhere else you might care to look. It is good news that is worth sharing.
Hope for Eternity
There is real comfort in the power of the Holy Spirit as He can work in a person’s life. Comfort becomes one hope that is achieved through the work of God’s grace. The beauty of it all is in Jesus’ words in Luke 15:7. He says that there is more rejoicing in heaven when one person repents than for ninety-nine who do not need to repent. This is a very telling statement that He makes. In the same way, the Lord God or the good shepherd will leave the ninety-nine to go after the one lost. That is what gives comfort to those who mourn. We are not only forgiven but we are sought after without ceasing because of the agape unconditional love that God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ has for His people.
J. Hamilton Weston, Life in the Spirit, p. 38
A Present Hope
“Blessed are.” This blessedness is not some promise of distant hope. The divine blessing is already here, already now. In the Beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew, the phrase “blessed are, theirs is,” is a constant and consistent repetition. The blessedness of God is not some pie in the sky by and by, not just something we hope for but something we already have and possess.
David Moffett-Moore, The Heart Cries Out, p. 7
