And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:5
Hope is a natural part of life. Everyone hopes for something. It helps us set goals for our future and motivates us to reach them. And it’s what helps us get through tough times.
When we place our faith in Christ, our hope extends beyond this lifetime. As we get to know Jesus more, we have a growing certainty that our ultimate destiny is an eternity of good in God’s presence. Those around us may not understand this new hope we have, but the longer we walk in it, the more it changes us from the inside-out.
One of the biggest changes that hope in Christ makes is that we begin to experience God’s love for us and we want to share it with others. This love is not just a warm feeling … and it’s not something we can easily explain … but we know when it’s there. It gives us confidence that we belong to a family, and we have a Heavenly Father who loves us completely.
God’s love gives us a whole new foundation for our identity. Now, instead of basing our worth on how well we measure up to our culture’s standards of beauty, wealth, talent or intelligence, we have worth because God loves us and He says we are worth everything—even giving up Heaven to come to earth and live and die for us.
Because you’re created by God and loved perfectly by Him, you can trust that He’s telling the truth when He tells you who you are. Ephesians 1 gives us a long list of what He says about us when we place our hope in Him. Read it when you have time and you will see that you are blessed, chosen, holy, blameless, God’s child, redeemed, forgiven, lavished with grace and love, and filled with God’s Holy Spirit that guarantees you are His forever.
Lauren Daigle talks about the battle in our minds between what we have been told about ourselves and what God says about who we are. Watch her video for “You Say” and believe the truth about who you are in Christ.
I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low
Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short
And when I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe
Oh, I believe
What You say of me
I believe
The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe
Oh, I believe
What You say of me
Oh, I believe
Taking all I have, and now I’m laying it at Your feet
You have every failure, God, You have every victory
If you have been encouraged to hope while listening to SPIRIT 105.3 and want to share that hope with others, please give today to our Time for Hope campaign. When you become a monthly donor or give a gift of $500 or more a portion of your gift will go to fund World Concern’s partners on the ground who are actively serving Ukrainian refugees.
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