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Hope is the fruit of faith. Hope is what keeps us firm and purposeful in life. With hope our vision is kept alive and it manifests itself through determination and perseverance. Again, hope is the key to a joyful life.
The Lord Jesus walked the face of the earth and was tempted in all ways yet He never lost sight of His purpose on earth. He lived as the embodiment of hope. No matter the obstacles we face in life, if we have our eyes fixed on Christ, He will restore us by giving us hope. This hope the Lord Jesus gives produces glory. or victory.
This is why when Christ is in a man, there is the assurance of glory. Scripture says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Many are the afflictions we face each and everyday. But if we have Christ in our lives, we believe that we will overcome them.
Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, tells us that we should not be afraid of any situation that comes to confront us in this life but keep calm because, He has overcome the world. This is hope. This means that, no matter the situation life throws at us, we must have hope that it will not destroy us but strengthen us.
With the eyes of faith, we see through the lens of hope. Faith is the substance of things HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen, according to Hebrews 11.
The seed that produces hope is faith. A hoping Christian is a faith-demonstrating believer and a faith-demonstrating believer is a powerful child of God because he is able to produce results. We can’t have faith without hope and we cannot be God’s children without faith. Because it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6).
We do not see the Lord Jesus Christ physically as some of the first century believers did see Him and we have not seen heaven, yet our expectations are so high that we believe we will one day relocate to heaven. How did we come by that hope? Certainly, it is through the Lord Jesus. We have never seen God and yet we pray to Him and have the assurance He listens to us when we pray the right way and the right prayer. Again, we come by this great hope through the Lord Jesus.
Hence, whatever situation we encounter points us to Jesus, if we are genuinely His. Many who do not have Christ Jesus in their lives kill themselves when they are faced with the challenges of life. They cry and beg death to not take them at the point of death because they do not have the King of Glory who is also the Giver of Hope in their lives.
Christians also face similar situations but those who strongly hope in the Lord receive supernatural strength to overcome them without harming themselves. This is why Jesus, the Christ is our hope in all situations.
By Michael Florida Asante
