The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
Joel 3:16
A Timeline Divided
What is hope? Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines hope as confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well-founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God’s gracious promises; a scriptural sense. They add that hope always gives pleasure or joy.
The prophet Joel prophesied that the Lord will be the hope and strength of His people (Joel 3:16). His prophecy came true that solemn night in Bethlehem when our hope, Jesus, came and changed everything. Hope insinuates something happening in the future. Jesus gave us hope for our future the hope of heaven and for all eternity.
This sweet perfect baby boy separated time as we know it dividing it in two: BC (Before Christ) and AD (After His Death). These two times signify a time without Jesus (BC) and a time with Jesus (AD). A time of darkness without any hope and a time where light has come with hope for all the world.
The two dimensions in each of these signify two remarkably different times, states and existences for the entirety of mankind but in our own individual lives these two times, states and existences also reign true. Before Christ, we were without Jesus, without hope and engulfed in darkness but as we became born again believers of Jesus Christ totally surrendered to His Lordship all things have passed away behold all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Now AD, after the death of our old man and the Holy Spirit coming to live in us, we are spiritually awakened, having a new life, totally and forever changed. In this new life we are to reflect the new life we have been given in Christ in what we say, do and think. We are to look at Jesus and the example He came to set before us, we are to live like Him, reflect Him and best always represent Him well to others.
The Bible says we are to be ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). When people see us, they should see Jesus. Sometimes we may be the only bit of Jesus a person gets to experience in their life therefore, let us represent Him well and tell others about Him, being prepared in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2), showing and telling others the life they could have with the true light and hope of the world.
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
1 Peter 3:15-16
““Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”” Luke 2:14 NKJV
The angels were proclaiming a heavenly announcement of Jesus’ coming, bringing hope, peace and light into the world. The Heavenly announcement was sent first to the lowly shepherds showing that He came to give hope to everyone.
The people who walk in darkness shall see a great Light—a Light that will shine on all those who live in the land of the shadow of death. Isaiah 9:2
Jesus brought to us hope for our present and our future. He came to give life and a life more abundantly (John 10:10) where He wants to bless us more than we can ask, think or imagine according to power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).
Jesus also came to give us the hope of heaven, the hope of eternal life with Him where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4).
This doesn’t mean our present life won’t have disappointment, heartache and pain but with Christ and because He overcame the world, we are also able to be victorious, overcome and have peace for Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
He guaranteed us trouble will come but He already came, dealt with and provided for it. He didn’t promise that the weapon won’t form, but He did promise that it will not prevail against us (Isaiah 54:17).
The Lord didn’t stop Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from having to go through the fire, but the Lord did keep them from being harmed. The three Hebrew boys committed themselves to God and what you commit to God he is able to keep (2 Timothy 1:12). Once you commit yourself to Him, He is more than able to keep you and He will.
We should have their attitude when standing up to the enemy and this world, they said in Danial 3:16-18 that they didn’t need to defend themselves, they were confident that their God is able to save them and that He will rescue them and if God didn’t rescue them they still had faith that He would make it clear to king that they would never serve any other God.
You may be asking God and praying for God to do something in your life, but you have to have peace if He makes it happen or not and not in your timing. Jeremiah 29:11 states that God’s plans for us are for good not for evil, to give us a future and a hope. A future and hope in Jesus. He knows us better than we know ourselves and what truly fulfill us, trust His judgement. He will never give you something He knows would draw you away from Him or harm you and out of His perfect timing.
I hope you enjoyed the first part of this Christmas series about Hope! Stay tuned for the next part in the series on Reflecting Light.
