Enlightened Hope

COMMENTS

How’s everything going in your life right now?  Is it “smooth sailing”?  I know some folks who are in “rough seas”.  Close relationships are strained; and as a result, the skies are dark and the waters stormy.  I’ve prayed a lot for them—and like everyone in my shoes, I wish I could do something tangible to help.

NOTES

Then, God speaks.  He gives direction to my prayers and tells me to speak hope into those lives.  Hope—that sometimes elusive element that completely changes one’s perspective.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people.”  --Ephesians 1:18

When we’re in a dark place in our lives, there can be no better prayer than the one that pleads for enlightenment.  Satan inhabits the darkness, but darkness cannot exist in the presence of the Holy One, for He IS light!  And what does that Light reveal?  According to this verse, it reveals hope!  Whatever the darkness, His child is not stuck there because God’s light brings hope—hope for reconciliation, hope for healing, hope for an answer to the problem, hope, hope, hope!

The words following Paul’s statement about hope are very interesting.  The way I read it (once again, I remind you that I’m no theologian), hope is a golden nugget; it is a “glorious inheritance” to us, His holy people.  It is, indeed, a glorious thing to be able to have hope in the midst of a dark world or dark circumstances.  With hope, we are not left to drown in the stormy seas, for our Lord throws us a life raft.  All we have to do is trust Him and climb aboard.  He will take us to that quiet place where joy and peace and hope prevail.

As we experience the hope our Lord gives, we feel encouraged; and we are strengthened:

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  --Isaiah 40:31

Finally, even though hope makes us feel better, there is an even higher purpose—God’s glory revealed to those around us:

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  --1 Peter 3:15

This verse assumes two things:  that you HAVE hope and that it SHOWS in your life and conversation.

Hope—a gift from God, an inheritance for His people, a source of encouragement and strength, and a beacon to those lost in a dark world!