When is Your Hope?

No, that is not a typo in the title.  I pray that all of you reading this can quickly answer the question “Where is Your Hope?” with “My Hope is in Christ”.  Today I want you to think through the question of “When?”.  And not just for yourself, but also think about the Hope that you are sharing with others.

Especially during the Holiday Season, there is great joy, great happiness and great wonder.  There is also great loneliness, overwhelming anxiety and deep depression for many.  What are we sharing with these people (and ourselves) to help us find Hope and also “The Peace that Surpasses ALL Understanding” (Philippians 4:7)?

I remember when I first prayed “the prayer of salvation”.  It was 1988 and I was in a very bad place in my life.  The person who witnessed to me and attempted to lead me had very good intentions, but also a misplaced emphasis.  The question I was asked was – “If you died today, do you know for sure where you will go for eternity?”  The answer that I was told was – “If you repent of your sins, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and are Baptized, then you shall surely go to Heaven.”  Going to Heaven sounded great; life was terrible here and I would welcome the trip to such a beautiful place that promised no more tears and no more suffering.  I completed the required steps – basically secured my ticket – and waited.   I prayed for God to take me to Heaven almost every night.  Why was God not taking me to Heaven as He had promised?  Why was I still here in tears and emotional pain?  Because, I was taught only a partial truth.

The emphasis of our relationship with Christ should not be placed solely upon our death.  Our relationship with Christ is right now.  When is our Hope?  Right this minute, as well as at the time of our death.   I want to tell you today that if your entire hope as a Christian is in where you will go when you die, you are missing more than half of the point.   Yes we are promised a resurrection and an eternity in the presence of God.  But Jesus tells us in John 10:10 –

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

In Romans 14:8 we learn that we belong to Christ NOW, not just at our death –

If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

God does not promise to take away all of our struggles during this life; He does promise to be with us as we walk through those struggles.  Psalm 46:1:3 tells us that God is ever present with us.

God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.
Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil.

I want to tell you today that God knows your struggles.  He knows your fears.  He knows your pain.  He truly desires for you to talk to him about it – not to inform him – He already knows – but to let Him know that you know that He knows.  To let Him know that you know that He cares and that you trust Him.

So, I ask you again –  “When is Your Hope?”