~ Listen while you read, please! ~
Marvelous, Wonderful, Infinite God; Author of all that is good
Faithful Provider and Giver of life, Source of all power and love
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; Refuge of strength to the end
Righteous Redeemer and mighty to save, He’s the Anchor of Hope for the souls of men
Gracious, Compassionate, Merciful God! Radiant, holy Delight
Beautiful Father, Victorious Son—Source of unchangeable Light
You are Light in the dark, You are healing for the broken heart
You are Hope, you are Lord, You are Life, you are Love that endures
Powerful, Constant, Unwavering God; Shepherd who comes for the lost
Rock of salvation, Remarkable Love, Savior Who died on the Cross
~ Songwriters: Brown Bannister, Ellie Holcomb / Performed by Ellie Holcomb ~
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This…all of this!…is our reason for Hope! Biblically, hope is an assurance, something we depend and count on happening. To the world, hope is a ‘wing and a prayer.’
HOPE – verb
- To entertain or indulge hope; to cherish a desire of good, or of something welcome, with expectation of obtaining it or belief that it is obtainable; to expect; – usually followed by for. “But I will hope continually.” – Psalm 71:14
- To place confidence; to trust with confident expectation of good; – usually followed by in. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God.” – Psalm 42:11
- To desire with expectation, or with belief in the possibility, or prospect of obtaining; to look forward to as a thing that is desirable, with the expectation of obtaining it; to cherish the hopes of. [Charity] hopeth all things. – 1 Corinthians 13:7
I would like to encourage you, friends, to grasp this Hope as your Truth! We are often so good at encouraging others…reminding our brothers and sisters of the Hope they have…speaking to the unsaved and telling them of the Hope they can have. But speak this Truth to yourself. Hold to it. Depend on it.
Your Lord IS Your Hope—He is
- the Light in the dark
- Refuge of strength to the end
- Healer of your broken heart
- Rock of salvation
- Savior Who died on the Cross
- Anchor of Hope
In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise
the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,
so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,
we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,
where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us,
having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:17-20
At the foundation of it all “this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast…” A hope that we have had no part in securing, no part in determining, no part in bringing to pass. A hope simply to hold onto—an Anchor of Hope in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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I pray, for each of you that “…our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and encouragement and well-founded hope through [His] grace, <would> comfort and encourage your hearts and strengthen them [make them steadfast and keep them unswerving] in every good work and word” in Jesus’ Name. Amen. (2 Thessalonians 2:16 and 17)
About coleen hayden
