HOPE -- PART 2

WHY SHOULD I TRUST GOD AS MY HOPE?
Hebrews 6:18-19: YHVH has given us both His Promise and His Oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for YHVH to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to His promise with confidence. This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into YHVH’s inner sanctuary. Hebrews 10:23: Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for YHVH can be trusted to keep His Promise. 1 Peter 1:21: Through Moshiach you have come to trust in YHVH. And because YHVH raised Moshiach from the dead and gave Him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently in Elohim. YHVH cannot lie because He is truth. YHVH therefore, cannot break His promises. His Word stands forever. YHVH must be trusted for our hope because He alone conquered death by raising Moshiach from the dead.

WHERE CAN I GO DAILY TO REINFORCE MY HOPE?
Romans 15:4: Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. They give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for YHVH’s Promises. Psalm 119:43, 74, 81, 114, 147: Do not snatch Your Word of Truth from me, for my only hope is in your Laws. ...may all who fear You find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in Your Word. ...I faint with longing for Your Salvation; but I have put my hope in Your Word. ...You are my Refuge and my Shield; Your Word is my only Source of hope. ...I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in Your Words. -- Each day I can visit YHVH’s Word and have my hope renewed and reinforced. His Word never fails or wavers.

HOW DOES HOPE HELP ME LIVE BETTER TODAY?
Philippians 3:13-14: No dear friends, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which YHVH, through Yeshua Moshiach, is calling us up to heaven. -- Hope focuses on our future, especially our eternal future.
1 John 3:3: All who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Moshiach is pure. -- Hope helps keep my life more pure before YHVH.

WHAT CAN I DO WHEN THINGS SEEM HOPELESS?
1 Samuel 1:1-28: Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to Elohim. -- In the midst of Hannah’s hopelessness, she prayed to YHVH, knowing that if any hope was to be found, it would be found in Him.
Acts 16:16-34: He took no chances but put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to Elohim. -- Paul and Silas were on death row for preaching about Yeshua, yet in this hopeless situation they sang praises to YHVH. Why? Because they had an eternal perspective.
Proverbs 10:28: The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked are all in vain. -- No matter how hopeless things seem here on earth, in Moshiach we have ultimate, eternal hope. -- People who don’t know Moshiach have nothing but their own hopelessness to cling to.
Psalm 27:14: Wait patiently for Elohim. Be brave and courageous. -- Hope is trusting YHVH to act in His good timing. Haggai 1:9: You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because My house lies in ruins, says YHVH Almighty, while you are all busy building your own fine houses. When we honour Elohim, our hopes can be richly fulfilled.
Psalm 18:4-6: The ropes of death surrounded me; the floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death itself stared me in the face. But in my distress I cried out to Elohim; yes, I prayed to my YHVH for help. He heard me from His Sanctuary; my cry reached His Ears. -- Hope is trusting YHVH to act in His Good Timing. Hope also means carrying with us an eternal perspective that realizes sin and evil may sometimes thwart our plans here on earth but never YHVH’s plans in heaven.

WHAT PLANS DOES YHVH HAVE FOR ME? HOW IS HOPE INVOLVED IN YHVH’S PLAN FOR ME?
Jeremiah 29:11: I know the plans I have for you, says Elohim. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Philippians 3:13-14: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which Elohim, through Yeshua Moshiach, is calling us up to heaven. -- YHVH never plans evil or hopelessness for His people. And His ultimate plan is to give us eternal life with Him in Heaven, where pain, sorrow and suffering are gone forever. Hope involves an understanding of the future.
Romans 12:12: Be glad for all YHVH is planning for you. Be patient in trouble and always be prayerful. Our greatest hope is that we will live in heaven forever with Elohim. In the meantime, He created each of us with a plan for our lives and we must hope that we are listening to Him and following Him closely so that we might fulfil His plan for our lives.

OUR HOPE IS BUILT ON A TRUST RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
Psalm 71:5: O Adonai, You alone are my Hope. -- Who but YHVH controls the future? Who but YHVH has a home for us that is eternal? Who but YHVH forgives our sins? Who but YHVH can give us a life that lasts forever? No wonder He is our hope! Romans 8:24: Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope for it. -- Salvation comes through trust in Moshiach, believing He will do for us what He has Promised. Hope is expecting that He will give us everlasting life and that we will live with Him forever. We can’t see these things, but we can hope with assurance, for our hope is built on a trust in the most trustworthy one of all.
Hebrews 11:1: What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. -- We have faith in YHVH to do what He has Promised and we can be absolutely sure that He will. So our hopes are not idle hopes, but built on the solid foundation of His trustworthiness.