The Second Gift of Easter - Hope

"But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." Micah 7:7

"In his name the nations will put their hope."  Matthew 12:21

Hope is another one of those words.  A word we use a lot, even stand upon, but what does it really mean?  As always, let's go back to the dictionary.  Dictionary.com uses the following as one definition:  "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best."  I think even better are the synonyms listed:  longing, expectancy.

Look at the verses above and substitute longing and expectancy.  "I long for the Lord."  "The nations will put their expectancy."   

Hope is belief that what we want is what we can expect.  For instance, we hope to see God when we die.  But hope is not a useless, pipe dream.  It is an expectation.  As Christians, we expect to see Him one day.

Christ's death and resurrection on Easter brought us the fulfillment of the gift of hope.  Because of His promise of everlasting life, we have hope that this life is not the end.  We have the gift of expectation!  We shouldn't go through life, living with some vague, truly hope-less hope of eternity.  We can life expecting that we have an even greater purpose after this life ends!! 

The apostle Paul based everything on this hope.  As he stood trial in the book of Acts, he said, "And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? (Acts 26:6-8).

The promise of resurrection is hope fulfilled.  It is longing to see loved ones, fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, friends . . . oh, to see them again!  It is expecting to spend eternity with God - without sin, without impurity, without tears.

Don't live this special Easter week without expectation of God's promise fulfilled.  Believe that what He said is true, that what He did is real, and that what He wants--is you.