When You Need to Place Your Hope in a Sure Thing
We want life to be sure. When we plan for good weather, but the storm clouds roll in, where can we find our hope? Let the word of God speak to your heart.
What in life is a sure thing? Not much! Yet, how we long for certainty: We feel content in the sureness of home, family, work, routine. Something about the mail person coming at the same time every day is comforting to us. Part of the allure of adventure is that afterwards we can return to what we know.
The sun rises, the sun sets.
Consider these more humorous examples of sure things:
- Your teenager’s day at school will always be a mumbled “OK” and nothing else.
- Half-full cereal bowls will be left in the sink, or maybe on the kitchen table.
- You’ll lose at least one sock per load of laundry.
- Right now, it’s a sure thing that I’ll wake up around 4:00 a.m. to heed the call of nature. Too much information? Maybe so, but I bet you have your own examples of humorous sure things!
The thing is, things are sure until they are no longer sure:
- The job is lost, and the house has to go on the market.
- The once-healthy person falls to a lingering illness.
- Your always carefree child loses her smile and struggles with depression.
At times like these, we long for a sure thing. Will we survive the calamity? Will we ever feel settled? How will we make it through the shifting, changing time?
Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Where is the hope in that? It’s a good thing Ben didn’t have it completely right. The Bible offers a hope that is sure:
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8 ESV)
The psalmist extends the thought:
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope. (Psalm 130:5 ESV)
When we plan for good weather, but the storm clouds roll in, we can count on God’s promises. When life is coasting along, and then disaster strikes, we can trust in His word. For His word points us to the true Word–Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
Is the sand shifting under your feet? Place your hope in the sure thing: The word of God, which will stand forever.
Digging into God’s Word: Hope in the Word of God
As you read these passages, note the actions the psalmist takes in relation to the word of God. He waits for the Lord, he longs for salvation, he hides in the Lord, and he rises early and cries for help.
Isaiah 40:8 (ESV)
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Psalm 130:5 (ESV)
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope.
Psalm 119: 81, 114, 147 (ESV)
81 My soul longs for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I hope in your words.
Digging Deeper: Hope in the Word of God
Treasure this time with the Lord. Reflect on or journal about the following questions, listening for what God has to say to you.
1. What area of your life is unsettled at this time? Talk with the Lord about it, and attempt to leave the problem in His hands. In God’s faithfulness to His word can we find hope.
2. Has a particular scripture passage been of comfort to you? Remind yourself of the hope you have found in the word of God.
3. The word of God (the inspired word of God written on the page) gives us so much hope because it consistently points us to the Word of God (Jesus). May your heart fill with hope at the thrill of God’s perfect word:
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:14-17 ESV)
4. Let the word of God in song soothe your soul. The psalmist remembered, “I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise” (Psalm 42:4). See if one of these songs bolsters your hope:
My Hope Is in You (Aaron Shust. Grab the Kleenex: It’s a riveting video.)
Word of God Speak (MercyMe)
Cornerstone (Hillsong. This is a contemporary version of “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less.”)
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Extra Info!
I had no idea. Benjamin Franklin’s quote about death and taxes is often taken out of context, even out of its original sentence. Longing for permanency of the U.S. Constitution, he wrote, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy in 1789:
“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Both Daniel Defoe (1726) and Christopher Bullock (1716) had previously called death and taxes sure things.
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Find the Series
You can find the entire series on Hope here: Hope Springs Eternal
Find Past Devotions from other series on the website under the Devotions menu or at www.diggingdeeperwithgod.com/past-devotions/.
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Free Printable on Psalm 103!
We just finished a series on Leaving a Legacy, which focused on living out the characteristics that God models for us in Psalm 103. If you’d like a printable on What Psalm 103 Tells Us About God, click this link:
What Psalm 103 Tells Us About God
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