Morning By Morning #59

My hope comes from him.

Psalm 62:5

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

What a privilege for a believer to be able to say these words! If he is looking for something from this world, it is indeed a poor “hope.” But if he looks to God to supply his needs, whether they are earthly or spiritual needs, his “hope” will not be in vain. He may continually make withdrawals from the bank of faith, getting his needs met from the riches of God’s loving-kindness. This I know—I would rather have God as my banker than all the Rothschilds put together.

My Lord never fails to honor His promises, and when we take them to His throne He never sends them back unanswered. Therefore, I will wait only at His door, for He always opens it with His hands of generous grace. And I can try this afresh and anew at any hour.

Yet we also have “hopes” beyond this life. Soon we will die, but even then our “hope comes from him.” Don’t we hope and expect that when we are finally lying on our deathbed of sickness that He will send His angels to carry us to His side? (See Luke 16:22.) We hope through faith that when our pulse becomes faint and our heart struggles to beat that an angelic messenger will stand over us, looking with loving eyes upon us, and whisper, “Arise…and come with me” (Song 2:10). Then as we approach the heavenly gate we hope to hear these words of welcome: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matt. 25:34).

We hope for harps of gold and crowns of glory and soon to be among the multitude of shining souls before the throne of God. We look forward with longing for the time “we shall be like” our glorious Lord, “for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

If these are your “hopes,” “O my soul” (Ps. 103:1), then live for God. Live with the desire and determination to glorify Him who is your eternal supply and whose grace provided your election, redemption, and calling. And remember—it is only because of His grace you have any “hope” of the coming glory.

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

The Oxford dictionary defines hope as: “a desire [or wish] for a certain thing to happen.” We say, “I hope you have a good day,” meaning, “I wish you a good day,” but hoping or wishing has no power to actually make it happen.

Yet biblical hope means much more. In fact, Paul equates hope with Jesus when he says, “God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

Thus, hope should no longer be a wishy-washy term used so casually. Here is how Hebrews speaks of hope: “We who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf” (Heb. 6:18 – 20).

This means a believer’s hope is powerful and permanent—“an anchor…firm and secure”—anchored “behind the curtain” to the very throne of God! Dear reader, in what—or whom—do you hope today?