SA44 - Keep Your Christian Hope Strong
The word “hope,” as used in the Bible means, “the expectation that good things will happen,” this points to future expectations. As we think of our hope, one must ask, what do we have to look forward to in the future?
- The Ability to See Beyond Present Trials.
- Perfect Health and Happiness.
- Everlasting Life.
- Resurrection of Our Dead Loved Ones.
Our hope is not based on fantasy or wishful thinking; it is based on evidence and reality which is closely tied to our belief that Jehovah is sovereign and loving. We are convinced that Jehovah has both the desire and the power to accomplish everything that he says he will do, therefore our hope for the future is guaranteed because it comes from Jehovah. (Romans 15:13)
This understanding is a source of strength that protects and encourages us in difficult times, allowing us to persevere through tough challenges and trials. In this regard, hope is both like an anchor and like a helmet.
In Hebrews 6:19, Paul likened our hope to an anchor because an anchor stabilizes us.
An anchor works by digging into the bottom of a body of water and holding the ship in place with the weight of the anchor and the tension on the anchor line, sustaining the ship until calmer times prevail.
Jesus demonstrated this kind of anchor as he remained steadfast despite the cruel death that awaited him. He said, “I will reside in hope; because you will not leave me in the Grave, nor will you allow your loyal one to see corruption..., you will fill me with great joy in your presence.” – Acts 2:25-28. Jesus knew that he would die, but he had the firm hope that God would resurrect him and that he would have the joy of being reunited with his Father in heaven. (Hebrews 12:2, 3)
Think about this as you consider the illustration of the anchor, in addition to holding a ship in place, anchors can also be used to help a ship maneuver in certain situations. For example, an anchor can be used to help a ship turn or hold a specific course in strong currents or winds.
At 1 Thessalonians 5:8, hope is compared to a helmet.
A helmet is designed to protect a soldier's head from a variety of potential injuries. In battle, a helmet can provide protection from bullets, shrapnel, projectiles, as well as blunt force trauma and falls. Why is this so important? Well, just as the helmet protects a soldier’s head, our hope protects our thinking so we can act with wisdom and discernment, allowing us to remain faithful to Jehovah.
Overall, a helmet is an important piece of protective equipment for soldiers in battle, as it can help to mitigate the risk of serious head injuries and potentially save lives. If our helmet is weakened, we could lose hope and allow fleshly thinking to take hold of our mind and drop our sight of the goal of everlasting life. Our helmet of hope protects us from such doubtful thinking like, there is no point in even trying to please Jehovah.
In this article we learned good reasons for keeping our Christian hope strong. Through prayer, meditation, and consideration of all that Jehovah has done for us, it helps us to strengthen our hope in what he is doing now and what he will do in the future.
May our Bible-based hope continue to draw us closer to God and reveal how deep His love is for us.
Thank you for reading,
-Soli Jehova Gloria (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Do you have a comment that did not get mentioned during the Watchtower study? What encouraging observations would you like to point out? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
5 comments
Great point Lezlie as always. We do so much to maintain our health. The same thing is necessary to maintain our spiritual health. Satan knows that if we don’t protect ourselves, he has a way in to rob us of our hope, we must remember that with Jehovah, therein lies hope.
Hi Anonymous: Such a wonderful thought, Psalm 6:2 show me favor. I always try to remember Hebrews 6:10 – For God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name by ministering and continuing to minister to the holy ones.
To maintain our health, we eat right, exercise, and get the proper amount of rest. To maintain our hope and keep it strong we must, as the WT lesson pointed out, pray to Jehovah, read and meditate on his Word, meditate on how Jehovah kept his promises and consider what Jehovah has done for us personally. When we do this nothing the enemy Satan can do can rob us of our hope.
Thank you as always. This lesson helps me to continue to keep hold of that Anchor. Continue to look at areas in my life. And Beg Jehovah to help me. I ask Jehovah at Psalm 6:2 to please show me favor.
Dealing with certain challenges in my life and many life changes. But with Jehovah’s help. And Encouragement from friends like you. Help me to continue to keep Jehovah in front of me.
The comment I wanted to make:
In effect Eliphaz tried to convince Job that God didn’t loved him because he didn’t look after him and he might as well not bother serving him. Who do those words sound like they’re coming from, well they’re not hopeful, they are gloomy and could have made Job feel his situation was hopeless.