Hope: \u201cto cherish a desire with expectation of fulfillment\u201d (Webster). How do we hold on to that little four-letter word when we\u2019re caught in a swirling current that threatens to drown us?<\/p>\n
The key is choosing a reliable foundation for our hope.<\/p>\n
Over many years I\u2019ve collected Bible verses about hope. I can find these easily in a concordance, but these personal notes remind me of lonely places where God spoke hope into my<\/em> circumstances. Some notes include the date I received assurance from the Lord that he heard my heart\u2019s cry and began acting in my behalf.<\/p>\n The verses aren\u2019t just a concordance list but a record of Creator God at work in my life, promises of his love and presence and reliability in my lonely places. I don\u2019t remember each circumstance, but I remember the hope God\u2019s Word gave me, through whatever translation I was reading at the time.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026hope always means waiting for something that we do not yet see. For whoever hopes when he can see? But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience.\u201d (Romans 8:24b-25 Phillips).<\/p>\n \u201c…we have [fixed our hope] on the living God, Who is the Savior, (Preserver, Maintainer, Deliverer) of all men, especially of those who believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to Him)\u201d (1 Timothy 4:10 Amplified).<\/p>\n \u201cThen you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed\u201d (Isaiah 49:23b NIV).<\/p>\n As long as circumstances offer any hope, we will not hope in God. Hopeless desperation drives us to him, the only reliable foundation for our hope.<\/p>\nAs long as circumstances offer any hope, we will not hope in God. Hopeless desperation drives us to him, the only reliable foundation for our hope. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n I remember coming close to feeling hopeless, only to realize I\u2019d landed in that lonely place when I failed to trust God. Trust feeds hope. When we trust God, we live in hope.<\/p>\n \u201cAgainst all hope, Abraham in hope believed\u2026\u201d Romans 4:18a NIV).<\/p>\n \u201cSo let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgment of it, for He who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word\u201d (Hebrews 10:23 Amplified).<\/p>\n \u201cFor in thee, O Lord, do I hope; thou wilt hear, O Lord my God\u201d (Psalm 38:15); \u201c\u2026my hope is in thee\u201d (Psalm 39:7). \u201cThou art my hope, O Lord; thou art my trust from my youth\u201d (Psalm 71:5).<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026in and on Him we have set our hope (our joyful and confident expectation) that he will again deliver us [from danger and destruction and draw us to Himself]\u201d (2 Corinthians 1:10b Amplified).<\/p>\n As a writer, I can offer a little hope. But I can refer those in a lonely place to the one whose words come with a guarantee he will keep his promises.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel\u201d (Joel 3:16).<\/p>\n \u201cBehold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee\u201d (Psalm 33:18-22).<\/p>\n \u201cThe eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry\u201d (Psalm 34:15).<\/p>\n \u201cBe of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord\u201d (Psalm 31:24).<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in continuing this study of hope, following are more of my favorite Scriptures.<\/p>\n Lamentations 3:21-26<\/p>\n Psalm 39:7<\/p>\n Psalm 42:5-11<\/p>\n Psalm 43:5<\/p>\n Psalm 71:5-14<\/p>\n Psalm 146:5-6<\/p>\n Write out these verses and put them in your \u201chope\u201d file to encourage yourself and keep hope blazing in lonely places. As for this day, here\u2019s a decision you\u2019ll never regret.<\/p>\n \u201cI wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope\u201d (Psalm 130:5).<\/p>\n We can live in hope in lonely places because God is a reliable foundation for our hope\u2014the only reliable foundation.<\/p>\nWe can live in hope in lonely places because God is a reliable foundation for our hope\u2014the only reliable foundation. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n Are you in a lonely place today trying to hold on to hope? I\u2019d be honored if you\u2019d tell me about it. And please share this article with your friends.<\/p>\n Scriptures from KJV unless noted<\/p>\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2021<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hope: \u201cto cherish a desire with expectation of fulfillment\u201d (Webster). How do we hold on to that little four-letter word when we\u2019re caught in a swirling current that threatens to drown us? The key is choosing a reliable foundation for our hope. Over many years I\u2019ve collected Bible verses about hope. I can find these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,722,386,255,353,721],"class_list":["post-1607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-dianne-barker","tag-god-is-our-hope","tag-god-keeps-his-promises","tag-trusting-god","tag-waiting-on-god","tag-we-can-live-in-hope-in-lonely-places"],"yoast_head":"\n