Hope in His Word

    “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
    In Romans 15:13, Jehovah God is described as the God of hope. One definition of the word hope is - a person or thing that may help or save someone. This definition so aptly describes the God who is able to deliver us from impossible situations. Psalm 46:1 also describes Him as an ever-present help in trouble. 
    In Acts 27 we read the account of Paul’s journey by ship to Rome, Italy. He is on his way there to stand trial before Caesar for his belief in Christ. Along the way, a storm arises. The crewmen find themselves having to take various life-saving measures to save both the ship and the people on board. The storm becomes so fierce that they finally give up any hope of being saved (v.20). After going for a long time without food, Paul stands before them and encourages them. He shares with them that the night before, an angel of God had appeared to him and told him that he would indeed stand before Caesar and that all those in the ship with him would be saved (vv. 23-24). He then told them to take courage because he had faith in his God and believed that what God had told him would come to pass (v.25).
    Paul’s hope was in his God. He believed that God would deliver them all no matter how bad things looked. Life will at times throw us into negative situations - the kind of challenges where you can see no way out and your back is against a wall. That was how the people on Paul’s boat must have felt. They saw no way out of that storm except death, and they lost all hope of being saved. But it was at that point that God showed up and gave them hope when they felt all hope was lost. 
    God may not always show up at the beginning when things are fairly bearable. Many times, He may choose to show up when we are at the end of our rope and we have just about given up. Let’s be real. If we can solve the problem ourselves then we would not need God. It may seem as if He is always late but He knows exactly when to show up and even though we may feel like it’s over, when He steps onto the scene it’s not over at all.
    Unfortunately, the boat was shipwrecked but all 276 people on board were saved - just as God had promised (v.22). The thing with God is this: when He gives us His Word, we can be assured that He will bring it to pass. Numbers 23:19 says: “God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said and will He not do or has He spoken and will He not make it good? God is a God of His Word. He always keeps His promises to us. This is what affirms Him as the God of hope, a God in whom we can trust and expect to help us when we need it.        
​   So, no matter what you are already facing at the start of this new year or what you may face as the year progresses, God is still the God of hope and He does not and will not change. He is the God we can rely on when all hope is gone and we feel like giving up. I encourage you, don’t give up on God because He will not give up on you.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God desires to deliver us, help us, save us. He will always be there and choose to be our help when we need it. He doesn’t go back on His Word and it is in this reality that we can have hope. Be encouraged!
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