"Why so downcast oh my soul, put your hope in God." (Ps. 42:5) With election results, continued exposure of failure among Christian leaders, increased personal trials within the body of Christ, we are in need as never before of genuine hope the kind that is an anchor for our souls. I can't tell you the flood of pain that came through the mail after last month's letter. Be assured we are praying even though I am unable to write personally right now. And Jim and I both felt the Holy Spirit wanted us to share on hope this month. In our English language, our most common usage of "hope" has very little to do with the Biblical meaning. I'd like to use an illustration to clarify the hope we are to have. Suppose a group of single women were asked if they plan to marry. Carol, who is dating and likes John, might say "I hope to marry John some day." Her hope is a mere wish with no real foundation. June, who is engaged to Steve, replies "Steve and I hope to be married next spring." Her hope is a confident assurance based on the promise of someone she knows and trusts. This is like biblical hope which leads to faith. Faith is action based on hope the outward expression of what we believe in our hearts. Without hope, there cannot be faith and without faith we cannot please God or receive anything from Him. Therefore hope is foundational and crucial to our life in God. Suppose a charming man separately approached Carol and June for dates. Their actions would show clearly the type of hope they have. Carol would probably say "Yes" for she has no real promise from John to cause her to respond in faith towards him. But June would refuse. Her hope is sure, enabling her to act in faith upon it. So many Christians have Carol's kind of hope towards God. This is easy to see by the choices they make and where they turn in times of need. If God is not our source, we will try to meet our needs some other way. If we are to put our hope in God we need not only to know Him but also what His will is. Our hope will always be proportionate to the intimacy of our knowledge of God and His promises. Head knowledge will not do it only real relationship leads to trust. Sometimes God is holding hope out to us but we either fail to listen or don't know Him well enough to believe Him. Suppose John had been trying to call Carol but she was never home. He then wrote promising himself to her but she was so busy she never read his letter. The promise would be there but Carol could not act upon it because she had not taken time to discover John's intentions. Jesus says to His own children "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come in and sup with him and him with Me." (Rev. 3:20) How often do we miss God's presence and provisions by neglecting His Word? What if Carol read John's letter but didn't know him well enough to trust what he said. Her doubts would make her hope too weak to enable her to act in faith. And so we may also waver even when we read God's promises if we do not know Him well enough to believe that what He says is really for us. In the middle of writing this I had an attack which affected my ability to use my right hand. I was tempted not to send this letter but God assured me He had prepared this message not only for you but for me as well. Romans 4:18 says of Abraham "Under hopeless circumstances, he hopefully believed." In the natural I have no hope for healing but God has made known that His will is to heal me
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