Imprisoned, yet not without Hope...

Hope...

The general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled? A desire of some good? Expectancy? Trustful longing? Chance of the desired end? Waiting under the possibility of fulfilment? What exactly is it? 

Whatever it is we can all agree that there's a measure of undeniable uncertainty that comes with the thought of it. This had me wondering... If Hope really is as highly esteemed as Faith and Love as quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13, shouldn't it at least provide one with a surety of the 'when', 'how', 'where', 'why' and many more like these? 

You realize that Faith on the other hand is described as the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. There's a level of assurance that comes with it because of God's spoken Word. It's why Abraham was so bold as to "believe against all hope, and so became the father of many nations"( Romans 4:18). God literally took him outside, told him to look up at the sky and count the stars; then promised that his offspring would be as many as those. After 'scaring' him(the test of faith🙂), He reassures him that his descendants would indeed be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Now that required Faith.

So what about Hope? If I were asked today to choose among the three, that is , Faith, Hope and Love, I'm quite sure my struggle would be between Faith and Love. If we're all honest then we'd acknowledge that we all have that need to know and demand for answers to the questions we ask God when we lack clarity in certain areas of our lives. We want to be very sure of the good plans He has for us, and when it's a blur we tend to lose it.

We get excited when God releases a prophetic word to us because there's a degree of certainty that comes with that spoken Word. We go to Him in prayer and remind Him of that Word, quote scriptures that reveal His faithfulness and how He will accomplish every Word He's spoken. It's encouraging at that point because all we have to do is believe and agree with Him and act upon that Word, and that's exactly what Faith is.

On the flip side...

What if He doesn't really say anything? What if it's all quiet even after you go before Him in prayer and fasting? After you've prayed in tongues for hours? What if you have absolutely no assurance from Him that things will actually be okay? What if He chooses not to reveal certain things about that future you hope for when you so desperately need to know?

Truth be told, most of us are quick to engage Faith in such moments, yet in actual sense, God hasn't actually spoken. Remember that Faith is the substance. There has to be a Word from God to validate that desire you hope to see fulfilled when Faith is engaged. Disappointment strikes when you engage Faith in an area that God hadn't really spoken and it turns out the exact opposite of what you expected. This is not God's will for us. This is why the understanding of Hope is vital for every believer. Check this:-

🍂

1 Corinthians 13:9-10,12NIV

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; 

then we shall see face to face.

Now I know in part; 

then I shall know fully,

even as I am fully known.

🍂

I pulled this scripture up because this is the understanding  behind "Why Hope?". At the end of the day only God is perfect in knowledge; only He knows the end from the beginning; only He changes times and seasons; to Him alone belongs all power. In other words He is sovereign, He is God above everything. He might choose not to tell you how or when things will get better - sadder still - whether they'll get better in the first place. Even so, we can't just wallow in our agony and say that He has forgotten us; or that He no longer has good plans for us or that maybe we are not worthy to receive good things from Him.

God wants you and I to have Hope, whether it's in the valley of the shadow of death, or in the middle of our deepest pain, or even in the darkest of nights. When relief is not guaranteed, we can choose to Hope in Him. 

The book of Job is such a beautiful illustration because all through Job's suffering, never did God promise to finally deliver Him and restore to him a double portion. You don't see him use words like 'believe' and 'faith'. Instead, what he engages is Hope. It's in the midst of all that pain and agony that we get powerful scriptures whose core is Hope.

For instance, 

🌺

Job 13:15 NIV

Though He slay me, 

yet will I hope in Him;

I will surely defend my ways to His face.

🌺

This message is not for us to grumble in dissatisfaction because we can never really be sure about anything in our lives, but to help us take a moment to show our reverence to God. His mysteries no one can fathom. If He chooses not to release the Word that you need, you can always be secure in Him as long as you Hope in Him. There are quite a number of things that we may never understand. Even so, He is still our God, and we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

One of Job's friends, Zophar, points this out so clearly (much as he used this biblical truth to try and insinuate that Job was sinful and needed to repent and change his ways in order for things to get better, which really wasn't the case). Regardless of Zophar's arrogance in his address to Job, there's a wisdom in his words that even Job agrees with. So he says, 

🌺

Job 11:7-10 NIV

'Can you fathom the mysteries of God?

Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

They are higher than the heavens above- 

what can you do?

They are deeper than the depths below-

what can you know?

Their measure is longer than the earth

and wider than the sea.

If He comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose Him?'

🌺

Job in his response attests to that truth and says,

🍁

Job 12:13-16NIV

To God belong wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his.

What He tears down cannot be rebuilt;

those He imprisons cannot be released.

If He holds back the waters, there is drought; 

if He let's them loose, they devastate the land. 

To Him belong strength and insight;

both deceived and deceiver are His.

🍁

It sure is an undesirable spot to be in, that is, being unsure of what exactly the outcome will be. But when we hope in God, it's almost like we're opening the door of our hearts and making room for God to intervene as He wills. Though we too may feel slain, we can choose to Hope in God. 

With this understanding, I believe you and I will be better placed to face come what may. If it ever gets too rough and we can't hold it all together, we can as well remind ourselves these things,

🌺

Psalms 43:5 NIV

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, 

for I will yet praise Him,

my Saviour and my God.

🌺