“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13 NIV

“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Romans 8:24-25 NIV

How many times in a week, in a day, do you say the word “hope”? I hope I don’t have a test today. I hope I get invited to the party. I hope my dad gets me a puppy. I hope I get to play my video game after school. When did you hope for something? What did you hope for? When we say this kind of “hope” we are really just wishing for something. A wish is a feeling or a desire that something might happen.

This week we want to talk about real hope. Hope is not just a wish for something. Hope is a strong and confident expectation that something will happen in the future. Paul tells us that it doesn’t make sense to hope for what we already have. If I have a dog why would I hope for a dog? We hope for what we don’t see, what we don’t yet have. If my dad has promised me a dog this year, then I have hope that I will get my dog. And I will wait patiently on my dad to give it to me.

The hope we have in God and Jesus is a strong, confident expectation that God will keep His promises to us. That God sees us through the sacrifice and righteousness of Jesus. We are God’s adopted sons and daughters. We have the true hope that we will be with God and Jesus in heaven someday. We also have the hope that even in difficult times that God is with us. That God hears our prayers. That God has a plan for our future.

Last week we talked about building our faith. This week we are learning about our hope in God and Jesus. Faith and hope are both things that we build our lives on. They are the foundation, the rock, we build on so that we can stand strong and firm no matter what troubles come our way.

This week talk to your parents about your hope in God and Jesus. Draw a picture of one of the things you hope for – heaven, a prayer, help, a plan. Now comes the hard part, we wait patiently knowing that one day God will deliver on His promises. Hopefully, it will be a long, long wait for heaven, but we know we will be there one day.

Thank God for the hope He gives you to stand strong and the faith He builds in you. Shine His light and love for the world to see.

Blessings to stand confidently on your hope!

Still filling in your grapes? Awesome!