Heaven is raining down hope for a New Year
Somewhere in the heavens a giant reservoir holds an ingredient essential to life: hope. In fact, heaven is saturated with hope and it rains down upon us.
In the 21st century “hope” is simply the poetic version of wishful thinking. These days “hope” is the stuff of dreams: it’s thin as the air. It’s the currency of desperation. In the modern world hope is a counterfeit traded by losers.
The simple word hope has come to mean something unsure and doubtful. Everyone hopes for the best, but prepares for the worst. When we talk about hope in everyday language we are really talking about our insecurities: who knows how things will really work out?
But last night I read these amazing words: “The faith and love that spring from hope that is stored up for you in heaven.” (Colossians 1:5) The Apostle Paul was writing to a community of believers he had never met. He had heard of their faith in Jesus. He had heard of their love for one another. Paul knew immediately that these people had tapped into an eternal source capable of funding such faith and love. They had tapped into hope.
The “hope of heaven” is not a destination; it’s a resource available to us now. Click To TweetThis is a revelation: in heaven, where every need is met and there’s no more crying or sorrow, hope remains. Paul describes it as the stockpile of heaven, ready to energize faith and love in the here and now. Why would we love another person if there were no hope for them? Why would we have faith in the promises of God unless there is evidence that these promises are sure?
The “hope of heaven” is not a destination; it’s a resource available to us now. Even in the valley of despair, a door of hope remains open, because heaven is open to us now.
Hope is our anchor, but instead of casting it into the depths of the seas, we anchor our hope in heaven—that place where God’s Kingdom is manifested full. We would do well to reflect, “How solid is my hope?” And, “In which direction have I cast my anchor?
Hope is the rebirth of divine certainty: through hope we see Jesus, the high king of heaven. Food, water, shelter, fame, money,and sex are only the illusions of necessity. Hope is the true necessity of life.
Only three things will remain untouched from this age into the next: faith, hope, and love. Hope is an abiding thing; it will outlast this world, and we will live forever in the hope that abides in heaven. Hope hangs out in the company of faith and love. It will outlast this world.
Hope is the engine of a thankful heart. Click To TweetAnd, not only in the age to come: the Biblical notion of hope is the opposite of uncertainty. It’s a word filled with expectation: expectation of God’s powerful intervention. The word hope describes the in-breaking of joy. When the Spirit of God speaks of hope, the word means “confident expectation.” It’s a lifeline from heaven. It is an overflowing word, intended to be contagious, changing lives and cultures.
Hope is the engine of a thankful heart. It’s worth saying again: hope is an abiding thing. Godly hope is the rebirth of divine certainty in us, and it does not disappoint
We could spend the next decade plumbing the depths of Biblical hope. We could explore the pathways of hope until we draw our final breath, only to discover that the half has not been told. Here are just a few examples:
• Hebrews describes hope as an anchor, thrown—not into the sea—but into the heavens. The preacher of that message suggests hope should spur us to diligence, not out of desperation but rather confidence.
• Hosea discovered the "gateway of hope" in the "valley of Trouble."
• The Psalms reveal that hope is the antidote for depression and turmoil. Not wishful thinking or a positive mental attitude, but instead drinking deep from springs of hope the way a deer searches for streams of water.
• In Romans, the Apostle Paul promised us that hope does not disappoint. Hope is the conduit through which God’s love pours into our hearts.
I’m beginning to re-tool my vocabulary, and more importantly my heart. What has God said? What has he promised? I will lash myself to his revelation, because hope abides.
Our ability to give thanks from the heart depends upon hope: the hope of God’s goodness and the hope of his constant presence. The greatest of these may be love, but faith and hope are love’s fellow travelers. I suspect there’s room for you in the traveling party.
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