Yesterday God awakened me with another thought about hope; that is, the critical role that truth plays in having strong hope. Without truth, how can we hope? Hope is the driving force behind most everything we do. It is an expectation or desire for something to happen. Much of our life is ruled by hope. Think for a moment about all you will do today. Will you do anything without an expectation of a particular outcome? Not likely. Otherwise, why would you do it? If your expectations are based on facts that are not true, then your hope is misplaced. You will ALWAYS be disappointed.
With this thought in mind, consider the critical role that truth plays in where you place your hope.
I’ll begin with a silly example. If someone tells me I CAN fly because they know I really WANT to fly and so I take a leap off the back deck—well, you can be sure my hopes of flying will be broken, as will a few of my bones. Anyone who is watching me and knows the truth about the law of gravity will think I’m an absolute idiot for believing in my ability to fly. I used that example because the foolishness in this hope will be obvious to most of us. The point is for us to examine what is less obvious, but equally foolish. We must consider the basis of truth for the hope we exercise in everyday life. For example, do you have such great hope in a new relationship that you would compromise the truth of God’s Word [about a godly relationship] in order to secure it? [I’ve been there.] Do you have such great hope for a lucrative business deal that you would fudge on the truth in order to close the deal? [I’ve done that.] Do you have such great hope for your child’s “success” that you are willing to place sports and education ahead of their spiritual health? [Did that too.] Do you have hope of going to heaven because you think you are basically a good person even though God’s Word makes it clear “all have sinned” and all of us DESPERATELY need God’s free gift of salvation?
My friend, hope in anything but the TRUTH not only makes us foolish, but it sets us up for failure, disappointment and—even worse—death!
Hope in God will never disappoint us because He IS the TRUTH. (Romans 5:2,5) Jesus said:
“I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6
Jesus IS truth and—He IS the empowerment and/or embodiment of the Word.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and TRUTH. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and TRUTH came through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:14, 17
Our human mind is hard-pressed to wrap our mind around Jesus being the embodiment of the powerful truth of God’s Word. But God’s Word has a power that is different from any other book you will read. (Hebrews 4:12) But would a God we could comprehend and understand be worthy of our greatest worship and adoration? The characteristics of God merit our greatest worship! Jesus is the great “I AM,” the eternal self-existing one. He is “the Word” that was spoken to bring Creation into existence (John 1 and Genesis 1).
Our choice about truth will determine the strength of our hope.
Will we choose God’s Word? Or, will we choose our own reason, medical experts, CNN, Twitter, our friends, family, or—anything that contradicts God’s Word— because it is the “real world” perspective? Any “truth” which contradicts God’s Word triggers our anxiety mechanism. We will be building hope in things that will only crush us. Our hope in anything—the wisdom of man, our own strength, science, reason, or relationships—without God is hope without truth.
Don’t jump off that deck!
After we are born again, our spirit man is made alive and able to communicate with God. Thus, we can learn to BUILD our HOPE in the TRUTH of His WORD. Through our relationship with Jesus, we have a vibrant, living hope!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
I Peter 1:3-5
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6 Responses
The Bible is my favorite book to read as a hobby.
I loved the message of the Bible.
Thanks for the message
Blessings!
thqnk you so much for this truth
you have really blessed me with these devotionals
Blessings!!