Hope keeps people going. Hope keeps our dreams and desires alive. Hope keeps us encouraged and excited. (Hebrews 6:18) Hope is the anchor that keeps us secure and firmly rooted in what we believe to be the will of God for our lives. Hope keeps us dreaming! Romans 5:5 tells us, "And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." Yes, hope is the anchor and hope is of God.
If hope is the anchor - How exactly does an anchor work? What is the job of an anchor? The anchor on a boat is attached to a chain or rope. It is dropped into the water and the weight of it causes it to fall the very bottom. The boat is then put in reverse so that the anchor will lodge itself securely into the ground at the bottom of the water. That is how it works. But the job of the anchor is to keep the boat from drifting. It offers the boat stability.
Hope does the same thing for us. Hope keeps us from drifting away from what we long to be true for our future or for our present.
HOPE is Having Optimistic Persistent Expectations.
Hope keeps us secure and stable. When hope is lost, so is the battle. Hope causes a person to make tough decisions for a better life. Hope causes a person to keep fighting for a better marriage. Hope causes a person to keep working on pulling weeds from that garden week after week. Hope is the anchor that inspires our persistence - our perseverance. In 1 Thess. 1:3 we read, "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." Hope says to us - just keep going, don't quit, don't stop believing.
The following story is kind of odd for a serious message, but here goes…
We have 2 dogs. We try really hard to take them for a daily 'walk'. We don't always succeed, however. We can't even say the word 'walk' around them or even use the word in a sentence about something totally different without their ears immediately perk up and them getting all excited. Besides that, the minute we start putting our shoes on, their tails start wagging and they begin following us around the house from room to room as if they are that little ball attached to a wooden paddle by an elastic stretchy cord. We often ask ourselves how do they know we are going to take them for a walk - we haven't said a word. Well, the answer is, they don't know for sure, but they are hopeful. The hope of a walk keeps them from letting us out of their sight for even a moment. The hope of a walk gets them all charged up. Hope usually does not disappoint them. Hope keeps people all charged up with expectancy, too!
Our dogs hope for a daily walk. People hope for other things - a better job, a baby, a new house, a husband. It could be anything. Hope is the anchor that keeps you from disbelief in what could be or what will eventually be. Don't ever lose hope! Not ever!
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Romans 15:13
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Hebrews 6: 19a
