HOPE

All of us have one way or the other hoped for something to take place in our lives: We hope that things will get better in our lives; we hope that we can overcome a particular challenge; we hope for miracles to happen; we hope our husbands will change; we hope that our prodigal children will return home; we hope to get money; we hope to be healed of our sickness. The truth of the matter is that hope must always be buttressed with faith. Hope and Faith are like two elements in a set; they go together. Many people usually have confusions as to when to use these two words - faith and hope. Though they might seem synonymous and are used interchangeably, they are actually different. For us to know the right meaning of hope in the Bible, we must first understand what faith is. The biblical definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11: 1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (NIV) Another version states: "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (NLT) From the biblical definition, a few key words emerge. They are: Confidence - to be sure of something. Hope - to expect something to happen. Since faith is when you are sure (confident) of what you are hoping for, then hope is an expectation one has, which usually does not give a 100% guarantee of receiving what you might be expecting to get. Apparently faith and hope, to some extent, function together because hope alone can never get you what you need until faith is applied. It's 2014, and it's a new year with great promises for all of us. A lot of people all over the world are excited about what this new year holds for them. They have great expectations (hope) of achieving great things this year. However, the passion with which they started the year might die out gradually as they go through the year. They might lose hope after going through the hard times and begin to doubt God. This must not be so! Our hope in God must not die out even in the hard times. The new year comes with a lot of blessings and challenges so we must prepare ourselves for all of that. It is very important that we expect big things to happen. It's normal for us to hope for the best things in life. But should it end there? No! This is where faith is needed. Don't lose hope, continue to trust in God. Be hopeful that things will change and they will. Be sure of what you hope for and be certain that it will happen no matter what. [by Kenneth Bray]