THE POWER OF HOPE

“For YOU ARE MY HOPE, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from birth…” – Psalm 71:5-6a

The Scriptures consistently reveal the POWER of HOPE: “For YOU ARE MY HOPE, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. my praise shall be continually of You.” (Psa.71: 5-6). God desires that His children discover and walk in the Power of Hope. Psalm 71is the prayer of an elderly man threatened by his enemies (vv.9,18). First, he introduced his petition (vv.1-4). The, he stated his lifelong trust in the Lord: “You are my HOPE… my TRUST” (v. 5), “You are He” (v. 6); and “You are my strong refuge” (v.7).

David had always trusted in God, and always found Him as his Helper. His name is “Jehovah, the hope of Israel” (Jer.17:13). When David said, “You are my trust from my youth,” he meant that he had proved his faith by notable exploits when he was a youth and ruddy; it was to him a cheering recollection, and he felt persuaded that the God of his youth would not forsake him in his old age. Essentially, David prayed that he might never be made ashamed of placing his hope in God.  He, as a mature man of faith responded to his troubles with implicit trust in God. His petition was for help for himself and judgment for his enemies (vv. 9-13). Then, he expressed his hope of receiving positive answers to his requests (vv. 14-18).

For us as believers, the ground of our Hope and expectation is in God. As He cannot be a false hope, we can expect to see our confidence justified. Every believer may come boldly to the throne of grace, knowing that He who was our Help from birth will be our Hope in our youth, and till old age. We are assured that the Lord will not cast us off in old age, nor forsake us when our strength fails. Hope is the cord that connects us to God, the very thing that enables God to work in our lives.

Scriptures reiterate that there is NO SHAME IN HOPE: “O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me” (Psa.25:2). Hope keeps God’s eyes on us: “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who HOPE in His mercy” (Psa.33:18). Romans 5:5 says, “Now HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Biblical Hope transcends wishing. Hope believes, expects, and anticipates a reality yet to come.

Hope is powerful in diverse ways. In particular, Hope heals, anchors our faith, and is a Gift of God.

Hope heals and strengthens: Just as the body needs rest to recover, so does a wounded spirit. When life’s troubles surrounded him and the future looked bleak, David said: “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him” (Psa.62:5). Hope makes strong. It enables us to develop spiritual muscles to combat life’s battles: “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isa.40:30-31a); “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” (Psa.31:24).

Hope anchors our faith: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1, NIV). We can raise our eyes and sight above everyday challenges and look to our Divine Helper to anchor our faith: “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Heb.6:19).

Hope is a gift from God: “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to GIVE YOU HOPE and a future’” (Jer. 29:11, NLT). The Gift of Hope ushers us into the fulfilment of God’s Promises!