WISDOM FOR LIVING DEVOTIONAL
OCTOBER 26, 2020
TOPIC: KEEP HOPE ALIVE
BY T. O. BANSO
“But I will keep hope alive, and my praise to You will grow exponentially” (Psalm 71:14 The Voice Bible).
There are two kinds of hope: natural and Bible-based (divine hope). Natural hope has no assurance that it will be realized, but it can make people feel good and have positive expectations. It may come to pass, and it may not.
Either way, a man with natural hope is still better than a hopeless man. For example, a man with natural hope may not consider suicide. But a hopeless man, a man without hope, could be suicidal.
Romans15:4 tells us that whatever things were written before, were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. The scriptures give patience and comfort (encouragement) so that we can have hope.
God doesn’t want us to operate at the same level as unbelievers who may have only natural hope. He wants our hope to be divine i.e. rooted in or founded on His words. Job 8:13 says that the hope of the godless comes to nothing. The believer’s hope is a living hope (1 Peter 1:3).
Psalm 71:14 says, “But I will keep hope alive, and my praise to you will grow exponentially” (The Voice Bible). The New King James Version puts it thus: “But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.”  According to the apostle Paul in Romans 15:4, whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Hope has been defined as, “A belief that something you want will happen.” There are other definitions of the noun form of hope. Faith and hope go hand in hand. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen for by it the elders obtained a good testimony” (New King James Version).
The more you feed on the Scriptures, the more you’ll learn patience and comfort (encouragement) that the Scriptures give, and you will have hope in life, no matter what you’re going through. That is the implication of Romans 15:4. God’s word or promises give us hope. Romans 5:5a says hope never disappoints – it doesn’t put to shame.
The hope the scriptures give believers includes the following:
1.The hope of resurrection and eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:15-19; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; Job 19:25).
2. The hope of divine healing and health (Exodus15:26; 1Peter 2:24; Jeremiah 30:17).
3. The hope of restoration and a turnaround (Job 14:7-9; Joel 2:25).
4. The hope of a good future (Jeremiah 29:11). Hope gives us the expectation that tomorrow will be better. Such hope is even more effective when it is founded on the word or promises of God.
Keep hope alive, based on the Word of God that cannot fail. God cannot lie; He is not a man that He should change His mind (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:21; Samuel 15:29). God cannot give you false hope. If He promises, He’ll do it.
What you should do to keep hope alive.
1. Feed on the Scriptures daily (Romans 15:4).
2. Speak the word/promises of God to yourself regularly (2 Corinthians 4:13). This will renew your hope. If the hope is corporate or institutional, speak the word of hope to your staff, team or stakeholders.
3. Set your hope anew on God every day. The challenges of life are daily; God’s mercies are new every day. Set your hope fresh in God daily. That you had hope yesterday doesn’t mean you will today. So set your hope anew in God. Psalm 78:7 says, “So each generation can set its hope anew on God, remembering his glorious miracles and obeying his commands” (New Living Translation).Â
4. Remember His glorious miracles. Don’t forget what God did for you in the past or in the Scriptures. What were written in the part, were written for your learning.
Remembering God’s glorious miracles gives you hope that what God did before, He can do again. Psalm 78:7b talks about remembering His glorious miracles – the works of God. Psalm 103:2 says you should forget not all His benefits – all He has done for you. David remembered how God helped him to kill the lion and the bear, and he believed God that he would kill Goliath (1 Samuel 17:34-37).
5. Be obedient to God’s Word. Don’t forget your hope is founded on the Word of God. Psalm 78:7 talks about obeying his commands. If you’re willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19),.
6. Rejoice in hope. Romans 12:29 says, “Be joyful because you have hope” (NCV). Rejoice always (1 Thessalonians 5:16). You can’t be hopeful and be sad at the same time. You can’t want to keep hope alive and be mournful. Count it all joy – though they may not all be things of joy. Rejoice always – it affects you positively and those around you Nehemiah 8:10 says the joy of the Lord is your strength. If you have hope, you should rejoice – this keeps your hope alive.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The LORD be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, help me to set my hope anew on God, remembering His glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Father, I shall keep hope alive, based on Your Word of God that cannot fail. In Jesus’ name, I shall be joyful because I have hope.
(For over 300 in-depth and powerful messages by T.O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T.O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
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