I would like to start by asking you a question: where do you find hope? If you have your phone, a computer, or a good old paper version of the Bible, I’d like you to turn to Psalm 91 and read the whole thing.
It’s only 16 verses, so it won’t take much time. Psalms is pretty well right in the middle of the Bible if you need help finding it.
To give you a bit of “background”, the Psalmist who penned the words was expressing a great confidence and hope in God, even in the face of suffering.
The Psalmist wants us to know that his hope is in God, and God alone. There is no denying that whoever wrote this Psalm had experienced and witnessed many great difficulties in their life.
Yet their mind was not caught up in these troubles, the problems, the heartaches and headaches, but rather they were focused on the perfect hope that only comes from God.
They knew that refuge and safe haven will never be found in the things of this world; that can only be found in God. And the last few years of covid have shown us clearly the truth of these words; the last few years have shown us how quickly things can change and be taken away. Security and peace is not able to be achieved through our own efforts, but rather, will only ever be found in the perfect grace and love of God.
One of the beautiful images that the Psalmist uses in his description of this peace is that of a mother bird that would stretch out her wings to cover and protect her young underneath.
It is a wonderful picture of warmth and love and comfort. And this is what God does for us, this is what He offers us, warmth, love, comfort, and protection.
I find my hope in the forgiveness of my sins, and the eternal life that was given to me through the death and resurrection of Christ. And God offers all of us this same eternal hope, hope in the promise that the things of this world: pain, suffering, and even death, have no claim to us; death has lost its sting, it has no victory. Death is merely a gardener who plants a seed, buries it deep in the dirt, only for it to then grow and burst forth into a new life and beauty. That is why, that even in the most difficult moments of life, I can still say “God is good”, I can still have hope.
Through Jesus’ death and resurrection I know that death is not the end, but just the first step towards eternity in paradise with God. And because I know where my eternity lies, I can walk through the difficulties of life with a sense of hope and joy that can only come from God. That is my source -hope. But I’ll ask you again: what is your source of hope?
