Hope is A Choice

“An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.”   A.W. Tozer

A.W. Tozer speaks to the weak heart who thinks that God’s blessings are just for those other Christians who appear to be so holy. We all have weak hearts in need of God’s grace and in desperate need of his reminders of true hope. We all have days or even seasons of thinking that God has only a certain percentage of love to give out and we may not be within that percentage. But that is simply not how the Lord works.

His love for us cannot be contained by our thinking, instead we must focus on the truth of His character.

Hope is not wishful thinking and it isn’t just positive thinking either. Hope, like love, is a choice that you make.  It doesn’t just fly into your lap where it stays untouched and perfect.  It takes a lot of work to choose hope. Choosing hope means reading the Bible and believing that the Lord’s words are true, because they are.

God chose to love you and He reminds us in Romans 8 that we are called “to live according to the spirit and not the flesh.” Although it is easy to focus on our present suffering or trials, it is vital that we focus on God’s unfailing word during these times. He does not want us to be led astray; He gives us specific instructions so we don’t fall like so many others have when they focused on the flesh.

Romans 8 also speaks about the suffering we will endure, but to be encouraged of our future reward. There will be times of trial but we can be assured that those times will not last forever.

We can be reassured that the Lord answers our cries. Psalms 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  And we can be sure about hope because: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:19

In short, yes, you can be assured that the Lord cares about you and your life. He cares if you fall down and when you are doing well. He cares about the people you surround yourself with and how well they know Him. He wants to know them.

Have you told people in your life about Jesus, His love, His grace, and His forgiveness? Today is never too late to start. Who knows, by doing this you may encourage someone else who woke up thinking God has forgotten about them. You can remind them that He hasn’t forgotten.

Are you struggling with hope? How can we pray for you today?