Anchored In Hope
The dictionary defines hope as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Given that, there is a lot we hope for in this world, isn’t there? When we are young, we hope for a certain toy or gift for our birthday and Christmas. We hope we get to go somewhere cool and do something exciting. We hope we get to be in the same classroom as our best friend. We hope we pass the test, make the team, win the prize.
As we get older, we start to hope for things which have a bigger impact on our lives in the long term. We hope to get into the right college or get a particular job. We hope we meet that special someone soon and we hope we are able to have healthy, happy children. We hope we are able to buy that particular house, we are able to provide for our family, and we are able to enjoy our golden years surrounded by friends and family.
All of these are fine things to hope for, but they are all also temporary things. They are all things which will, eventually fade away. They are all things which will, someday, fail us. So why then are we talking about being anchored in hope this summer at camp?
As Christians, we have a different type of hope. We have hope which is anchored in Jesus Christ. For us, hope means we are confident that God is faithful and will complete the work he started at creation. It is a statement that, while we often don’t understand, we will wait on God’s timing as he fulfills his promises.
Anchoring ourselves in this type of hope makes much more sense. To anchor ourselves in Christian hope is to anchor ourselves in the things of God which are eternal. It is only the things of God which live up to all they have promised, which will not perish or fade away, which will not, ultimately, disappoint us.
Hope, for the Christian, is not simply wishful thinking. It is putting our trust in God and being confident that what he has promised to happen will happen. It is rooted in the promises which God has already fulfilled. Promises such as making Abraham the father of Israel with descendants so numerous they cannot be counted just as the grains of sand in the desert cannot be counted. Or delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and bringing them to the promised land. Or the promise of a Messiah who would deliver His people from sin and bondage.
The scriptures are filled with testimonies of a God who fulfills his promises to his people over and over again, even when they reject him and turn away from being in relationship with him. They are also filled with promises which still hold true for those who put their faith and trust in Him still today. God promises us salvation and eternal life dwelling alongside him. We are promised that there is something much bigger beyond this world we live in and we have a place and purpose there. We are promised that our lives are meaningful and have a purpose to them which impacts eternity.
To be Anchored in Hope, for the Christian, is to be anchored firmly in these promises of God. While we can and do still hope for things which are temporary, things which are part of this world, we put our trust, we build our live upon the promises of God.
In the weeks ahead, I am excited to invite some guest authors who will be taking our theme verse for each day and reflecting on how it fits into this idea of being anchored in the hope of Jesus Christ. Additionally, next week, on our BEYOND mobile app we will be kicking off a daily devotional study based on our summer theme. We hope you will join us both on the blog and on the app, not to mention in person at camp, as we explore what it means to be “Anchored in Hope” this summer at IOLBC!
Follow Up:
- What hopes do you primarily build your life upon?
- How do you define the difference between worldly hope and Christian hope?
