As for me, I will always have hope;
 I will praise you more and more.
Psalm 71:14

 

The moment we begin a relationship with Jesus, we have HOPE. Hope for eternity on that day. But also hope for peace and joy and a life that matters on this day.

Hope keeps us afloat. Because of hope, we can proclaim with Habakkuk:

…    he enables me to tread on the heights.
 Habakkuk 3:19

We need not live under the pile, the hill, or the mountain. Whatever challenge today brings, we can walk over it.

Having HIM means we have hope. That never changes. That reality is sure. Our position in Christ is permanent.

But what does change is ourselves. We change through the events and circumstances that ebb and flow into the currents of life. We grow in Him. Hope bolsters our faith. Our faith is proven real. And through the squalls and storms of life, we are transformed to be more like Jesus, our source of hope. We become more acutely aware of what John Newton said so well, “I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”

Jesus didn't die for a perfect person. He died for sinners like you and me. Click To Tweet

The ever-increasing awareness of our own worminess and wretchedness makes it even more astonishing and amazing that He would want us. But He does want us. He wants us enough to die for us.

He chose the cross because He loved us.  And He loves us still.

Think about your absolute worst moment. Your most shameful response. We all have those situations that we would love to delete from our memory banks—those events that just thinking about make our faces burn with shame, as we look around hoping no one can read our minds or our faces.

Jesus knows every one of those. He knows. And He still loves us.

Why?

Some of those aren’t just bad memories from the past. They are very much ongoing challenges in the present. We commit, I’ll never say that again … then out it comes from our mouth! We proclaim, I’ll never do that again … and find ourselves spiraling right back to the same behavior. We feel like a failure. We are filled with disappointment and shame, because that’s what sin brings. But Jesus didn’t die for a perfect person. He died for sinners like you and me:

 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

He died for us and He loves us, warts, messes, and all. His is an honest love—He knows exactly who we are and who we are not—and He still loves us. He still died for us. And that, my friends, brings a blessed hope that nothing else in this world can make good on.

The hope you and I have is all because of who HE IS rather than who we are (and who we are not). Only a GREAT God and a GOOD God could love one so undeserving.

It is grace … grace on steroids! Grace amplified and demonstrated in power and love.

Because of that awareness, we have hope, and it prompts grateful praise. We are moved to praise Him more and more and more. Our praise expands. It deepens and widens. It becomes interspersed into our day to day. Not just a piece of our launch-the-day quiet time, but a song on our tongue, a thought-life devoted to continual prayer, and a transformation of our attitude.

Joyful praise in the midst of jumping through hoops and spinning plates? It can only be because of Jesus. My hope in Him prompts praise. How can it not? Click To Tweet

I find myself switching from my favorite oldies station to Christian praise music—not from guilt or obligation, but because I want to. My delight is to praise the one who fills my mind and heart with hope.

Wonder and joy and peace and PRAISE are juxtaposed into my daily chaos. My list is still long, the urgent tasks still call, the undone list seems to mock me, but my heart is hopeful. Hymns spring forth from my tongue—naturally, almost unconsciously, and joyfully.

Joyful praise in the midst of jumping through hoops and spinning plates? It can only be because of Jesus. My hope in Him prompts praise. How can it not?

Will you join with me in praising Him more and more … allowing hope to prompt praise in your life?

Thank you, Lord. This day, this moment, I’m choosing to praise You because of the hope you have provided!

 

 

There is still time to join us in April,
as we read, write and pray Scripture verses on the subject of HOPE.
Click below to download your verse list today!

Standard Bookmark — Write The Word: HOPE

 

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