You shall be called… the restorer of paths to live in. – Isaiah 58:12
Sometimes it feels like our life is stuck in a rut. We keep seeing the same scenery – the same results – over and over again. During these times, it is very easy to get frustrated and disheartened. “Hope that is deferred afflicteth the soul…” Proverbs 13:12
What is Hope?
HOPE is a word that is often thrown around lightly: “I hope my plane is on time,” “I hope the Patriots win the Super Bowl,” “I hope the weather warms up.” It seems we spend a lot of time hoping for things we have little or no control over and little-to-no assurance that what we hope for is actually going to happen. Praise the Lord, our relationship with God doesn’t have to – be like this.
The kind of hope the Bible talks about is very different from the one above. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for hope is defined as “confidence, security and without care (no doubt)” In the New Testament, the word for hope denotes “trust”. Doesn’t that sound much better than the kind of hope most of our culture has?
“Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.” – Proverbs 13:13 (MSG)
As the smoke of a thousand fires ascend toward Heaven, the American Church struggles to find answers to its latest crisis of faith. What does the election of Donald Trump really mean to those who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ?
Does this latest political upheaval portend disaster for the causes of justice and racial equality? Does it spark hope for slowing or ending anti-Christian bigotry, transgender bathrooms, and abortion? It would appear that it completely depends on the perspective of the person you ask.