Hope is extremely powerful. In fact, the Bible declares a “deferred hope” can actually make the heart sick (Proverbs 13:12). I actually don’t think it’s possible to live without hope. Furthermore, the sad fact is it is possible to put your hope in the wrong thing. Let me begin today by illustrating this: The Denver Broncos football season has been a wild one. It started off slowly, with Denver notching an abysmal record of 1-5; at one point they surrendered a whopping 70 points to the Miami Dolphins.
I blogged about that Miami game. I effectively wrote off the season at that
point, calling the Broncos “hopeless.”
But then Denver went on an impressive winning streak notching a 6-1
record over the next seven games. With a
7-6 record, hope and expectations high, Denver was shellacked by the Detroit Lions
42-17 (the Lions are currently 11-4, by the way, I say good for them!) And then on Christmas Eve, the Broncos were
defeated by the lowly New England Patriots (the Pats are currently at 4-11). This defeat led to the benching of Russell
Wilson sadly, at least in all likelihood, ending his time as a Bronco. I read an article from yardbarker.com (it can
be found here at this link) where the writer, Olie Coen, contended that the Broncos
should have given up when they found themselves at 1-5.
Whether one agrees with this assessment is neither here nor
there. What caught my attention was when
Coen states: “Why play for nothing? Why
risk injuries? And why give the fan base
hope when there was never was any?” The
truth is, there may be a hope that promises but ultimately fails to deliver, be
it in football, personal aspirations and dreams, Christmas expectations, or
even relationships. Now don’t hear what
I’m not saying: by no means am I suggesting to give up on any of these items;
absolutely not, far from it. What I am
saying is, no matter what, there is always hope in God. “And now, Lord,” writes the Psalmist, “where
do I put my hope? My only hope is in
You” (Psalm 39:7; NLT).
Rebecca St. James is one of my heroes. I recently happened to hear one of her older
songs that is an underrated track from her 2000 album titled “Transform”; it’s a song called “Reborn”.
She sings, “If you see a change in me, don’t wonder, there’s someone in
my life; a peace I can’t describe, for I’ve been reborn. If you see a change in me, don’t wonder, I’ve
found a whole new life, a hope that I can’t hide, for I’ve been reborn. Have you ever felt a longing, a searching,
within your soul for something more, but you don’t know what for? There’s One who will reach across the
distance from the Heavens to the Earth, because He loves you.”
In John 15, Jesus actually likened it to a vine and
branches. He said that He is the true
vine, and we are the branches, and the person who abides in Him will bear much
fruit. I have experienced this in my own
life. To be transparent with you: whenever
I choose to abide in the wrong vine, I soon find myself completely regretting
it. I love the way Jonathan Evans puts
it in his book “Your time is now”:
“Putting all your eggs in any basket other than God himself will only do one
thing for you: teach you not to do that again.
Because when it fails, you’ll realize in the spiritual life, it is only
God who deserves – and has earned – your confidence.”
In conclusion, as the dust of Christmas 2023 settles, I
want to encourage us (because I’m talking to myself here too) put your hope in
the only Person that won’t disappoint, the God of universe named Jesus. Look to Him.
Abide in Him. If you find that
you’ve gone off course, run back to the Lord; He’s ready and willing to give
the peace, hope and joy that comes from personal restoration via a renewed
fellowship with Him.
God bless,
Kevin
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