Binding Hope

"...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

I've studied 1 Corinthians 13 in search of  clues about how to love people the way God loves me. I wanted to know what true love was because I was tired of the twisted love that the world was spewing at me. I just revisited that journey this morning when another little four letter word caught my attention. HOPE.

Hebrews tells me that faith is being sure of what I hope for and certain of what I don't see. Tidy definition of faith, right? Corinthians tells me what love is. It's a little more complicated it takes four verses instead of just one. Within those verses I'm told that love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. There is no tidy verse that sums up hope but in the very definitions of faith and love I'm told to hope. The Holy Spirit nudged me, as he often does, with a question. "Marie, what is your hope in? Where is your hope?"

I realized with a start that my hope really is in God. As I pray for my friends, family and neighbors I hope that God will bless them. I hope they'll see the light of God in thier lives and turn to Him by faith so they can receive the hope that comes with His love. I hope God goes before them and behind them and surrounds them. I hope they remember just how much Jesus loves them!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." ~Jeremiah

Today, I'm praying for those that need to grab on to the hope that's been given them!