God as the source of hope – Day 2

There is a lovely word picture of the Lord God walking in the Garden of Eden calling out to Adam, “Where are you?” For Adam and Eve, knowing they had done wrong, were hiding from God (Genesis 3:8-9).

They may have been the first to hide from God but they were certainly not the last. People ashamed of their actions continue to do so today.

It is so much easier to hide from God rather than to turn to him and confess our sins. It is so much more tempting to ignore God and focus one’s hopes on worldly structures or the acquisition of wealth. Sadly, it is also a hell-bent road to disaster.

Throughout the Bible the message is loud and clear: God is the source of all hope.

The prophet Jeremiah put it so well: “Lord, you are Israel’s hope; all who abandon you will be put to shame. They will disappear like names written in the dust, because they have abandoned you, the Lord, the spring of fresh water” (Jeremiah 17:13).

Jeremiah makes it very clear that God is both the hope of the nation as well as the hope of every individual. He is also very clear about the dismal fate that awaits those who turn away from God.

Christian hope derives from and is inseparable from faith in God. It affirms the belief that what God has begun in Christ will be brought to fruition on the last day. “He has brought us by faith into this experience of God’s grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory!” (Romans 5:2).

Now that is something to look forward to. The very thought that we will one day share in God’s glory should fill us with joy and peace.

What a great God we serve.