I Hope So

 "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." Psalm 62: 5 & 6

    My childhood friend, Pam, and I spent many happy hours constructing our blanket-over-the-clothesline tents. For our home-away-from-home, a pile of old blankets became the A frame of our cabin. To secure the frame, we fetched bricks from behind the neighbor's garage to secure the blankets against the wind. Without those, it was all just laundry on a line. We placed our hope in those bricks, and they didn't disappoint us. 

    What if we'd used a plastic Barbie car and a container of Nestle's Quik instead of those bricks? We could clamber in and hope with all our fingers and toes crossed, but that wouldn't have made a difference when the wind blew because we'd hoped in the wrong thing.

    Biblical hope differs as widely from worldly hope as a brick does from a Barbie car. Christian hope is based on the fact that the crucified Jesus rose from a sealed tomb; his body was never found. Over five hundred people witnessed seeing him during the forty days prior to his ascension to heaven. All of his disciples (except for John who was exiled to the Isle of Patmos and Judas who betrayed him and hung himself) died as martyrs believing this hope, which was an anchor for their souls. 

    And what hope is this? Eternal life! Solid as a brick are the promises of God so go ahead and construct your life on it. When the storms of life batter your dwelling, you will sleep as securely as a child in a backyard tent.

"May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13