“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

The hope for flowers in God’s wonderful creation! God provides!

The Biblical definition of hope from biblestudytools.com is “to trust in, wait for, look for, or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future”.

Our hope is not of this world that we live in; our hope is in the Lord. Our hope comes from our relationship with God the Father and Jesus His Son. When we trust the Lord to do “good” in our lives, we have hope. Trust and hope are intertwined.

One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Our hope is not for things of this world that we can see, but for the spiritual things yet unseen. Our hope is in the supplications that we put before the Lord in faith and trust, our belief that He will answer our prayers and our “groanings”. There are some prayers I repeat every day, safety and wisdom and spiritual guidance for my children. I trust the Lord to take care of them for me and it gives me hope that they will be well. And the most amazing part is they are well. God provides for us. He gives us “a future and a hope.”

Hope keeps us sane when our world is in chaos. Hope gives us peace when all those around us are anxious. Hope is what provides calm when our world is messy and uncontrollable. God gives us the hope that only He can provide as He holds our “right hand” and walks with us through this life. Our lives can be challenging, sad, stressful, hard, judgmental, conflicted, grief-filled, depressed, frustrating, and beyond our control. But with our trust and faith in the Lord, we can have hope for our future!

My grandmother (Grandma) was very influential in my Christian walk. As a family we did not attend church. My Grandma gave me my first Bible (which I still have, though it is very worn and yellowed with age) at Christmas in 1967. I was 9 (yes, you can figure out my age!). She had the hope that I would respond to God. It told the story of Jesus and His words were in red! I was already an avid reader and so I read. Grandma was also a fabulous letter writer. She had an old Remington typewriter that played an unusual staccato rhythm as she struck the keys. Her letters were newsy and full of her joy and hope in the Lord and her prayers for us. As a result, my sister and I started attending church on our own. I now had a different hope for the future. I thank God still for Grandma, my mentor and spirit guide.

I want to leave you with one more verse about hope. It is not the usual, but offers a visual of faith, hope and love (the three main elements of Christian character). It is I Thessalonians 5:8, “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” I can see faith and love as a cover protecting our hearts, but it is hope that keeps our minds safe and protected. We need God’s hope to help us from becoming overwhelmed and down trodden; let’s put on our armor and fight the good fight!

I write every book for children and every blog post with the prayer and hope that God will speak to someone through my words. And that they can draw closer to God and His plan for their lives. That they can have hope!

This week let’s look to God and remember the hope He has given us now and over the years. Let’s pray for His wisdom, guidance, and strength as we look to our future and pray for the futures of those whose lives intermingle with ours.

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me today to discover the hope that only God can provide. I hope for a “beneficial” future for all of you!