My Hope! It's The Reason I Smile Part I

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27 (NIV)

There are so many people who have hope in this world. And there are many who have lost all hope based on things they have seen or experienced. I wanted to write a devotional expressing the hope each of us as Christians can, and should have. One is called The Hope of Glory, and the other is called The Blessed Hope. In part I, we will look at the hope of glory.

The first thing we should note here is there is a difference in hope as the world defines it, from the hope that is from God. The world thinks of hope as the wishful thinking of things that are desired. It is something, which someone wants to happen or occur. But it is not guaranteed, so it is only a hope. One might even cross his or her fingers and have as good a chance of it occurring in some cases. This is hope as defined by the worlds understanding.

Gods hope is different. Gods definition of hope tells us when we have a hope in something according to His word, then we have:

"An assurance
"A guarantee
"A certainty of something actually happening.
"A confidence properly placed in that transpiring.

And this is because God is the one who has made the promise, and the guarantee.

So, as Christians, we can have confidence in having hope in everything we do in life, knowing God has given us a promise. The scripture above has told us, we have been enlightened and educated of Gods glorious riches of what was previously a mystery.

Q:What is this Mystery?
A:The mystery is Christ living in you.

Jesus Christ lives in you once you have received Him into yourself by accepting Him as your personal Lord and Savior. We now have the fullness of the Word of God, proclaimed by Jesus as He came to the earth to deliver this message and to die for our sin. The Apostles proclaimed this message as well. No longer was Gods plan of salvation and empowerment for living a righteous life a hidden mystery.

The mystery Paul is referring to in the scripture above has been revealed. And it is of Gods plan to have Jesus inside the hearts of all who believe in Him. And because of this, we have the hope of Glory.

Q:What is the hope of Glory?
A:Well Glory means great honor, praise, and thanksgiving offered in worship; splendor and majestic beauty. Glory refers to heaven, and heavenly things of God.

This is great news for us, as Christians, because we know Jesus is in our hearts, and the Holy Spirit is living within our bodies. So, we now have a true hope (the assurance, confidence and the guarantee) of Glory, (the heavenly things) which God has given to us. We can now face all of our tests and trials with confidence, knowing God will stand with us and empower us to face each and every challenge; assuring us of victory according to His perfect plan.

This is a proper biblical perspective from a Christian view of why we should be positive in the face of opposition within our lives. This is confidence properly placed. This is our heritage given to all who have been born again.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the worldour faith. 1John 5:4 (NKJV)

Its a great blessing to be given the knowledge of victory even before the battle has begun. It is something divinely given to those He loves, allowing us to change our entire outlook at life. Knowing our God has specifically allowed each situation and formulated a perfect plan as well.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Corinthians 15:57 (NKJV)

STUDY QUESTION: What kind of Hope can we derive from the scriptures above?

PERSONAL INVENTORY: Have you found at times, you have put your hope in improper things?

APPLICATION: Reexamine the scriptures so you may truly know the meaning of the Hope of Glory. Once you understand youve been given a guarantee of success in every situation, according to the perfect will of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do what youve been asked; you will have hope in the outcome of every test you face.

A Confident Prayer Life

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV)

Do you remember asking your mother or your dad for something and having the feeling of uncertainty about their response? You might have even become a little anxious or nervous as you awaited their answer. Most parents who truly care about, and love their children will usually take interest in their activities, and as such they will probably say, “No” to their children’s requests as much as they say, “Yes.”

It is the same way with our Heavenly Father—He cares so much about every aspect of our activities and our life, and as such, every detail is carefully weighed out. And just as it was when we were children, there will be times when we don’t get the “Yes” to our request, and our prayers will not be granted.

Our confidence in approaching God in prayer shouldn’t be grounded in the probability of Him saying “Yes” — It should be in the fact He knows what we need, and is always working things out in our life for the best. We can be confident when we approach the throne of God, because, as Christians, we are seated with Christ, and we are heirs with Him (Rom 8:16-17).

Q: So what does the scripture above mean when it says, we can be “confident?”

Confidence can be defined in a couple of ways, two of which apply to the above scriptures in 1 John.

1. A belief or self-assurance in your ability to succeed

2. Belief or assurance in somebody or something or the ability of somebody or something to act in a proper, trustworthy, or reliable manner

So according to these definitions we should be assured of our success when it comes to asking God for something in prayer, as long as it is “His” will that these requests be done. But to fully understand this confidence, we must look at it from a biblical perspective. As Christians, our confidence is:

A. Produced by faith (Eph 3:12; 2 Ti 1:12; Heb 10:22).

B. Made full by hope (Heb 6:11, 19).

C. Confirmed by love (1 Jn 3:14, 19; 4:18).

D. Is the effect of righteousness (Isa 32:17).

E. Is abundant in the understanding of the gospel (Col 2:2; 1 Th 1:5).

We really need to understand a fundamental principle in our prayer with God. The purpose of prayer is not about getting our will done. The purpose of prayer is about coming in agreement with God’s perfect will. We must never treat God like a genie in a bottle. So if what we have asked for in prayer is not according to His perfect will, then we must understand, He is not going to answer our prayer. We must always remember His ways are better than ours, no matter how noble our prayers may be, or how sincere we may have prayed it. Even though we think we can see clearly from our perspective, we must trust God fully, because He is the only one who sees the future and He knows everything. Father truly does know best!

STUDY QUESTION: According to 1 John 5:14-15 what would be a reason for God not answering our prayers?

PERSONAL INVENTORY: Are you willing to fully trust God for what is best in your life?

APPLICATION: Let’s always be mindful to ask God to answer our prayer according to His perfect will. Then we can have peace of mind, trusting in His perfect plan.