Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

Last weekend it was an honor to be one of the speakers at a women’s retreat in Galveston Texas, hosted by Katy Life Church. I was so nervous but excited too. It was a weekend where women of all ages were encouraged to see themselves as daughters of the King of Kings. As I watched each of the women be crowned I thought it was awesome, each had a story as do I, My story I share in this blog, and one day while writing I thought of the scripture in Psalm 51:10 and I started to sing the song to get the words.

“10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
 And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
 And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, 
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways. 
 And sinners shall be converted to You.”

I quickly found the passage and started reading; God was giving me something I knew was important, it was why I was me; what God used to keep me going!! It was the words in verse 10 “and renew a steadfast spirit within me” I wanted to know what God did to create and renew that steadfast spirit within me.

I wanted to share with the women how to walk this out with joy and authority!!!

After reading I recognized that God used “Hope” for the renewing of my heart and I realized that’s what He wanted me to talk at the retreat.

• Every night we set our alarm in the hope that it will awaken us in the morning, saying, “I hope I get up on time.”
• You eat your breakfast drink your coffee in the hope that it will nourish you and refresh you,
• You sit on a chair hoping it will support your weight.

• You get in your car in the hope that it will get you to work.

What really is the definition of hope?

Is it a wishy washy maybe or a kind of unsure optimism? The modern idea of hope is “to wish for, to expect, but without certainty of the fulfillment; to desire very much, but with no real assurance of getting your desire.

The Holman Bible Dictionary defines our hope as...

• "Trustful expectation, particularly with reference to the fulfillment of God's promises.
• Biblical hope is the anticipation of a favorable outcome under God's guidance.
• More specifically, hope is the confidence that what God has done for us in the past guarantees our participation in what God will do in the future.

This contrasts to the world's definition of hope, as “a feeling that what is wanted will happen.”

Understood in this way, hope can represent either a baseless optimism or a vague yearning after an unattainable good.

What enables you to be more fruitful in your walk with God?

If hope is to be genuine hope, however, it must be founded on something (or someone), which affords reasonable grounds for confidence in its fulfillment. The Bible bases its hope in God and His saving acts."

Jeremy Collier said that our blessed hope...

Is a vigorous principle; it sets the head and heart to work and animates a man to do his utmost.

That’s what kept me going…

The Puritan Thomas Manton wrote...

What an excellent ground of hope and confidence we have when we reflect upon these three things in prayer —

• The Father's love,   To stay in His presence
• The Son's value    To have the power in your life despite your situation
• And the Spirit's power! 
 

Who is God? What authority has He given you as King?

Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.

Those are the reasons behind the power to stir up hope, in my life…

What’s the difference between Faith and Hope? Are the interchangeable or different?

They must be different as it says in I Corinthians 13:13 these three remain “Faith, Hope and Love”

Biblical hope is simply faith in seed form. A hope is based on a promise of God. This promise communicates a possibility of God’s blessing to the individual and encourages the soul. If one will plant this seed into the soil of the heart, and if the soil is right, it will bring forth a harvest of faith.

Over and Over God dropped His word into my heart, it replaced fear, it restored peace, it grew love and planted strength to keep going in joy.

Natural hope

·      May or may not have a strong foundation,

·      May exist only as a feeling, or mental attitude.

·      This hope gives us a reason to go on, based on a notion that the desire can be achieved.

·      Natural hope then is based on the natural.

·      Natural reasoning, convincing, as it may seem to be, is not an absolute guarantee. In this world, a good result is never absolutely guaranteed.

Biblical hope is similar to natural hope, in that it is also a belief in the possible expectation of a desire. The difference is that the foundation for Biblical Hope is not founded on earthly reason, but rather on the promises given to us in the Bible from God.

Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Hope is Faith in Seed Form – Faith is Hope in Final Form

Both natural hope and Biblical hope start with a desire, a longing, or a need. Add to this desire a reason for it to be expected and you have hope.

·      Biblical hope is a desire that has a corresponding promise from God. In Biblical hope, the promises of God contained within the written scriptures are the foundation for this positive future expectation. The desires remain our desires, but now they have the added benefit of being a desire that is also an approved scriptural possibility.

·      These desires are transformed into hope by the realization that they are in agreement with the will of God.

·      Hope is further transformed into an object of faith by a direct and personal communication of God to our hearts. This faith will in turn transform the desire into a reality in our lives.

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance (ownership, legal right) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not (yet) seen.

From Hopeless To Hope and Then To Faith

Go Ahead and Hope Freely in God, for You Will Not Be Disappointed

For without hope God has nothing for which faith can make reality.

Romans 5:5 “..and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

If we diligently persevere in seeking God on a matter, hope will turn to faith, and our desire to reality. Hope is the first step in our receiving from God. For, ‘faith is the (ownership or reality) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not (yet) seen.’

·      Hope is the start of the walk of faith.

·      Hope believes you can have it someday. Faith believes that you have it now (in your heart).

·      Hope is the possibility; faith is the surety. Faith transforms hopes into realities.

·      Hope is the raw material from which faith builds the house.

Transforming our godly desires into reality is the purpose of hope and faith.

Romans 4:18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.

What does Paul mean by hope against hope?

 I like Kenneth Wuest's explanation that...

 Abraham’s faith is described.

• It was both contrary to hope (as far as nature could give hope)
• And rested on hope (that God could do what nature could not).

As I said earlier we have a story, my story was I always wanted more of God. He has always filled me with Hope That seed of knowing who my father God is, who my authority is from and in. He built and grew my faith throughout my story. His word always motivated, encouraged and grew me. I was never stationary. I was always moving.

Summary of Biblical Images of Hope...

Hope is

• A “door” Hosea 2:15 “Then I will give her vineyards from there,

        and the valley of Achor as a door of hope.

• An “anchor” Hebrews 6:19 ^“ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”         My foundation

• A “helmet” 1 Thessalonians 5:8  “having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”  Protection of my mind from lies.

• It is “stored up for you in heaven” Colossians 1:5 “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel”

Eternal not temporal mindset

• It is something inside a believer 1 Peter 3:15 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”

My children, my church…

• Something into which one is born 1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

·      You are a  “prisoners of hope” Zechariah 9:12 “Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope.”

Hope teaches us to wait and have patience.

Romans 12:12 Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times.

Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Hope in this life is designed to:

1. Instill the grace of patience.
2. Alleviate the natural tendency to worry.
3. Stimulate sobriety.
4. Comfort the bereaved.
5. Encourage a godly walk.
6. Motivate brotherly love.
7. Create a sense of urgency in the believer to be busy about the Lord’s work.

·      Don’t lose Hope. Allow the hope of God to flow into you. God’s hope encourages, motivates, and keeps you on the road to faith, peace, and victory.

·      Hopelessness breeds and creates the ‘feeling‘ of depression.

Hope is the road, Faith is the victory.

God is never finished writing your story, if you allow Him He will create in you a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within you, He will not caste you from His presence, or take His Spirit from you. He will restore to you the joy of your salvation, and He will give you a renewing spirit within you and sustain you. Listen, a renewing spirit within you is so important it’s what gives you hope that you can do this, that tomorrow will be better, that your life can and will begin again. That’s what made me who I am, that renewing spirit. God is faithful at all times.  

     Questions:         

1/ What desire do you have that has to be lined up with God’s will for your life to enable the Hope seed turn to faith and produce fruit?

2/ Did God show you any steps that you need to take to enable the soil of your heart to be able to receive the seed of hope?

3/ look at the word “HOPE” Create an acronym for each letter that will personalize your desires and Hopes for your life.

eg:

My   Heart

Is    Open to the

The  Potential

That Exists when I strive to survive

  

Hold

On

Pain

Ends