We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by FAITH RXD Staff.
Bible Reading:
Isaiah 8:17
“I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.”
Word:
Let’s start out today watching a video from The Bible Project where they break down the word “Hope” as it’s found in the Bible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WYNBjJSYvE&index=15&list=PLnk-oWSPAfCo2LaCujUeHhuTT2sGZb6rt
To refresh:
- There are many words for “Hope” in the Bible. Several of them mean “Wait,” and “Expectation.”
- In Psalms, the Hebrew word for “Hope” that also more literally translates to “Wait,” is used over 40 times.
- Biblical hope is based on a person and is different than optimism. Biblical hope looks back to Jesus in order to look forward.
As we enter a new year, in what, or who, are you placing your hope? Is it in time, that a new year will bring less chaos? Is it in your own talents and discipline, that if you improve or get better, then maybe you will feel less discomfort? Or is it in a person, that maybe a significant other will cause your problem to melt away.
Or, instead, is your hope in Jesus? That no matter how uncomfortable this world gets, the fact that he came, and died on the cross; God kept his promises to us to send us a Savior, so that we would be able to be in communion with him; all this means that this world is not our final home. One day, our situations will change, and we will be with God in Heaven, we will dwell in the new Heavens and new Earth.
Prayer:
God, thank you. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for redeeming our broken world. Thank you for embodying hope in Jesus. Please help me to keep my eyes on you, and have that eternal perspective as I face today, this week, this month, and this year. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Skillwork:
I encourage you to do this one thing today. Take some time, sit down, and list out the things you thought your hope was in, and write out these statements,
“God, my hope is not in ______(Fill in with one of the things you listed)______ my hope is in You.”
“God, my hope is not in ______(Fill in with another one of the things you listed)______ my hope is in You.”
“God, my hope is not in ______(Fill in with another one of the things you listed)______ my hope is in You.”
And so on.
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