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H.O.P.E. – Home of Personal Encouragements

By Toranado Teaches Leave a comment

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. (Psalms 27:14)

Hope: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

  • Worldly hope is a combination of wanting and expecting. Wishful thinking that you will get what you are wanting.
  • Biblical hope is very different than worldly hope. Here are the 5 types of biblical hope:

Experiential Hope

Experiential hope is optimism in my current circumstance, because of what I have experienced God do in my other circumstances.

Unshakeable Hope

A reservoir of strength in life’s storms. Unshakeable hope is hope that provides a solid anchor, securely fastened for the strongest storms of life.

The Blessed Hope

The absolute guarantee that Jesus will come again and things will be wonderful.

Hope that is a permanent work of the Spirit

This type of hope is a fruit of the Spirit, that all believers can always expect.

 Hope that reflects personal desires

The bible would call this type of hope the desires of your heart.

The 3 Dangers of Deferred Hope

  1. Depression – This is the simplest meaning of the text in Proverbs where it is called a sick heart. Proverbs 13:12 – Hope deferred makes the heart sick,   but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
  2. Hindered Prayer Life – A sick heart is sick in more than one way. A dangerous result of hope deferred is that some people turn from God in that situation.
  3. It provides an opening for a spiritual infection.
  • Germs get in through wounds
  • Doctors are more concerned about infection than splitting your sternum open.
  • Hope deferred can be like a cut in a person’s spirit, and if they are not careful an infection of temptation can slip in through that wound.

Hope deferred has led to many a single person taking up with the spawn of the devil. Be careful in a season of depression that you don’t go looking for solace in all the wrong places.

God is a faithful God working in our behalf, how can we keep from praising him? Even when things look bad, we can continue on with hope.

  • Admit our problems honestly
  • Talk to God about them
  • Wait before him in prayer and meditation on the word
  • When he speaks, listen, obey, and believe.

 

Love, Light, and Healing