WORD: Hope in God; Bible Text: Hebrew 6:1-12 Hope in the biblical context is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength in God’s faithfulness. It is an optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation or desire. You cannot have hope without faith. Faith being the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. In contrast to the generally definition of hope which is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcome with respect to events and circumstances, the biblical hope not only desires something good for the future — it expects it to happen. As we march into the new year, we need to hope in God for a better year: no matter how good the circumstances are now, things can always be better; and no matter how challenges things are, God is much bigger than them, and there is nothing impossible for Him to do. Our hope should always be in Him because He never fails, and has demonstrated this in the life of Job, Joseph, David, and other patriarchs in the past Romans 5:14. Better still, because of the work at Calvary and the resurrection, we have the Holy Spirit which guides us and the grace of God which equips and strengthens through challenging times John 14:26, 16:13. As we go into the new year, let our focus and attitude for better future be on God: seeking Him diligently through his words; being obedient to His commandments, and with earnest continuous prayers. God is with us through the end of times, Matthew 28:30; Colossians 1:27. Remain blessed in the Lord.
