Hope Connections

Monday Morning Commentary

Yesterday, Pastor Chad preached a message “Hope Connections”. Romans 15:4 tells us that everything that was written in scripture was for our encouragement and hope. How can that be? There are tragic stories in the bible- including the story of Job’s life where he lost everything. 

One of the most tragic stories in the Bible is actually the book where the word hope is mentioned the most. The word hope appears over 1,000 times in the book of Job. The thing is the Bible and our faith in Jesus does not provide an escape from reality- it provides hope no matter how dark our reality gets. 

Acts 27 also paints a picture of a dark reality when the sailors of a ship Paul was on did not listen to him. They were without hope being tossed by the wind and waves of the sea. They ended up losing the boat, but there was no loss of life among them because the angel of the Lord showed up. 

Paul was the hope connector. Even in the midst of people who were set on disobedience, Paul stayed connected to the God of hope. When tragedy came, Paul was able to impart hope, because he stayed connected to the mercy of God. 

• How can you stay connected to hope this week? 

• Who is God calling you to impart hope to? 

Another hope connector in the Bible was Ezra, Ezra lead the rebuilding of the temple after it was destroyed. Ezra connected with the mercy of God- he confessed, he wept, and bowed down before the Lord. When the Lord answered his request, he and his people took responsibility. The people made a covenant with God to do away with sin and they sang responsively to the mercy and goodness of the Lord. 

• How can you respond to the hope, mercy, and goodness of God this week? 

The truth is if Christ lives in you, you have the hope of glory living on the inside of you. No matter what you are facing, there is hope.