”Hope is a Choice. Choose Well!” - Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for February 2, 2022

We know the word hope. Having hope is a choice that we make.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:27, To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

J.B. Phillips translation reads: “...Christ in you, the hope of all glorious things to come.”

Hope with Christ and hope without Christ are not the same thing. The word glory has to do with fulfillment because of God’s presence. Every hope that God has put in your heart will have a glorious outcome, because of the presence of God in your hope.

The key to realizing the “hope of glory” is to know that Jesus lives inside of you and wants to express Himself in fulfillment of every hope. Hope is not based on circumstances, but on your interpretation of the outcome of circumstances.

For example, there was a story in the Book of Numbers Chapter 13 about Israel in which 12 leaders were instructed to go look at the land God had promised---He already told them it was “very good.”  Ten of the leaders lost hope because of their bad interpretation of the circumstance of giant beings in the land deemed as too big of an obstacle to overcome.

You either interpret the “giants” you encounter as stronger than you, or you interpret that you are “well able to overcome,” (In Caleb’s words) with God's help, giant-sized obstacles. This is an example of  “Christ in you, the hope of all glorious things to come.”

Hope is a choice. Choose well!

 

God Bless and Be Encouraged!

~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.