Is hope hard to find right now?

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. – Hebrews 10:23 NLT

With all that is going on in the world right now it is hard to have hope. You may have friends or family that have gotten sick from COVID-19. Some may have even passed away. At Grace Street Church we are preparing to re-open for worship services which we are not taking lightly. On top of that I am having some outpatient surgery in a few weeks at which time I will be tested for COVID-19. Am I worried? A little. Am I hopeful? Very much.

Just like the stock market, there will be ups and downs in life. One of the things I remember from when Diane and I went to Financial Peace University several years ago about investing is that it is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Stocks will go up and they will go down. We keep investing in our 401K knowing that when the time comes, we will have funds to draw from in our retirement.

The same goes with the hope that we have. Life will have its ups and downs. Right now, many are seeing the downside in a way they never imagined. Even so we must keep investing in our faith and in our relationship with Jesus. It is not a sprint. We are investing in our eternal future and unlike the stock market, it will pay dividends we could never imagine.

In a worldly sense it is hard to hope.  How many times have you or someone you know said, “crossing my fingers.” People hope for more money, a better job, a bigger house, a nicer car, etc. Those are all temporary things. Do they make life better and easier, no necessarily.

The hope that we get from God is much different. Here is where I would jump to the next chapter in Hebrews, chapter 11 which is often called the faith chapter. In it we read example after example of the faith that God’s people had. They had faith and hope beyond what they could see, lets call it a confident expectation. That is what the hope that we get from God. That is what we get from a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is what we get when we let the Holy Spirit work in and through us.

I have hope. I have a confident expectation that when God allows us to re-open the doors at Grace Street Church that He will take care of us and that He will fill the church. I have a confident expectation that because I have looked to God and have used the wisdom He has given me that I will test negative for COVID-19 and be able to have my surgery. I have a confident expectation that I will, when my time here on earth has come to an end, be in the presence of my Father in heaven. That is how I find hope in the hard times we go through.