“You may never know that JESUS is all you need, until JESUS is all you have.” So wrote Corrie ten Boom. The hymn “My hope is built on nothing less” contains a verse that starts “When all around my hope gives way, He THEN is all my hope and stay”. Often, those who seem to enjoy the brightest hope in God have no real alternative earthly hope. I am thinking of Abraham (as good as dead), the heroes of Hebrews 11, and people like Joni Eareckson Tada.
When our hope is in other sources, our hope in God often diminishes. All around us, we see the results of pursuing other hopes and objectives:
Hope in Things; Distracted
Hope in People; Disappointed
Hope in Myself; Devastated
Hope in Christ; Delivered(Anon)
In Romans 4 verses 23 and 24, Paul shows us that Abraham’s blessing was not only for him, “but for us also”. His faith and hope were remarkable because he actually believed that God would raise his son, Isaac, from the dead. The notion that Jesus our Lord was resurrected from the dead seems crazy to our unsaved friends. Nevertheless, we believe it in our hearts, resting our entire trust for eternity on this truth. Does it seem easier to put my hope in God for eternal salvation than to trust Him to help me through the challenges I will meet today?
