Hope is not just a quality that we possess, it is living, it is transforming, it is productive and it is fruitful.  1 John 3:3 expands on this idea further, “everyone who has this hope in him, purifies himself.”  Hope is not something that we keep to ourselves, it is not stagnant.  Hope is alive and it changes you when it influences the choices that you make in life.  Scriptural hope means that you are fully confidant that what has been promised will take place will result in spiritual growth.  This hope lives in me, it changes my demeanor, it colors my outlook, it gives me the resolve to do what is right no matter what life brings.  Hope is powerful, in 1 Peter, Peter tells the church how the power of hope can change their lives despite their circumstances. In verse 17 he goes on to say, “Spend the time of your journey here in reverence.”  Reverence has two meanings.  First, is the feeling of profound respect that is mingled with awe and affection.  That’s how I feel about my Father, there is a mixture of awe and great love and affection for the one who has given me so much.  There is another definition that goes hand in hand with this one, but it requires action on our part, it is the ability to look away from your own narrow thoughts and plans and to allow your mind to dwell upon the grandeur of God’s character.  Hope does this…it pulls us out of our present circumstances and points us to our Father, it reminds us that He is bigger than anything that we are facing.  His plans are higher than ours.

Father, thank you for the hope you have given to us which is transforming our lives.  Help me never to lose sight of this living hope.  I praise you for all you do in my life, not only the things I understand, but especially those things I do not.  Help me to look away from my our narrow thoughts and plans and know that everything You place in my life will result in glory to You! Amen