Hope

Read Psalm 33:16-22

Context: This is a psalm of praise.

Text:
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.

21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.(NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

Do you remember and hoping for something special as a child ? That sense of excitement on Christmas Eve as you hoped you could stay awake to see Santa and you knew he would bring something special? I like the Disney commercial where the little boy is going to Disney World the next day and he's 'too excited to sleep' (as is his dad).

That is the kind of hope God wants us to have. He wants us to know without a doubt that Heaven is a fabulous place, to hope that all of our expectations will be fulfilled. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:13 that we should 'set our hope fully on the grace to be given us when Jesus Christ is revealed.' Can you imagine -- standing before God, knowing that you are a sinner, and knowing that Jesus will step between you and God so that you can enter those pearly gates? This isn't the 'I hope it won't rain' kind of hope...it is a hope worth betting your life on. Peter did!