You will not pray for something you have no hope for.
What else is prayer, especially effectual fervent prayer, than putting your faith in God and believing that He will do what only He can do. Anything else that falls beyond the realm of hope, people simply give up on.
How many dreams have been trashed? How many lives have been discarded? How many destinies have been abandoned? How many sicknesses have won a battle in which they should have been defeated? All because someone lost hope.
Psalms 27:13
13 I had almost given up my hope of seeing the blessing of the Lord in the land of the living. (Bible in Basic English Version)
The KJV says, “I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” I grew up in an organization that used to sing way more about heaven than this life. I’ll Fly Away and Beulah Land are great old songs, and I do believe that where your treasure is there your heart is also, but what is life if we have lost the hope that makes us who we are as believers? The hope that we will lead thousands to Christ, the hope that we will see miracles and signs and wonders, the hope that God will give us “life in the fullest” as He has promised.
Many of us have lost the hope in Christ that produces the miraculous. There is a thin veil between hope and faith. It is almost indistinguishable. I often refer to Luther’s commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (verse 5) for some of my favorite distinctions of these differences.
“First, hope and faith differ in regard to their sources. Faith originates in the understanding, while hope rises in the will.
Secondly, they differ in regard to their functions. Faith says what is to be done. Faith teaches, describes, directs. Hope exhorts the mind to be strong and courageous.
Thirdly, they differ in regard to their objectives. Faith concentrates on the truth. Hope looks to the goodness of God.
Fourthly, they differ in sequence. Faith is the beginning of life before tribulation. (Hebrews 11.) Hope comes later and is born of tribulation. (Romans 5.)
Fifthly, they differ in regard to their effects. Faith is a judge. It judges errors. Hope is a soldier. It fights against tribulations, the cross, despondency, despair, and waits for better things to come in the midst of evil.
Without hope faith cannot endure. On the other hand, hope without faith is blind rashness and arrogance because it lacks knowledge. Before anything else a Christian must have the insight of faith, so that the intellect may know its directions in the day of trouble and the heart may hope for better things. By faith we begin, by hope we continue. “
Don’t you see why we need hope? One of the saddest things in life is experiencing the loss of hope. Too many people I know have done so in many areas and I am tired of seeing it happen. Our God is too great. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 encourages us to not be as “others who have no hope”. Let hope rise!
I believe true hope has a slight edge of joy to it…the kind that can almost erupt into a smile at any moment, regardless of the circumstances.
When we changed the name of our church to “City of Life”, there was so much to that. In fact I believe that God will reveal more about what that means in the coming months as He begins to unfold another miraculous chapter of this story in Osceola County. During that season of change my family went to Utah on a little vacation. On the way home I was sitting on the plane with my boy, Jude in my lap and my little girl, Mia sitting next to me and the Lord just whispered to me. He said, “Where Hope Lives”. I turned to Mom and Aim and I said, “Where Hope Lives. That is the phrase we will use for our church. City of Life: Where Hope Lives”. It so perfectly described what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives that we just praised God right on that plane.
At one point in my life I had lost hope…hope that someday I could ever be the kind of man that I wanted to be, that I thought I would be when I was a kid. I was rescued by Love three years ago. I had been in ministry my whole life, yet God wrapped His arms around me and that Love has led me to the greatest hope I have ever known in my life. I am sick of giving up on things. I have hope for Osceola County. I have hope for those who have been given up on and I especially have hope for those that have given up on themselves. God’s love gives me this hope. David’s beautiful words give me this hope. We WILL see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I already have and it is becoming addictive.
This is not just for people at COL. This is for all people that find hope in Jesus. Anywhere you go should be "Where Hope Lives".
