REJOICING IN HOPE

“…Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5, NLT)

What God can do is not determined by whether or not we believe Him, but what we can receive from Him is. As Christians, the word of God, specifically His promises, is the foundation of our hope.

God who created the morning and the night, and upholds each ensuring that they arrive on schedule, says there will be joy with the arrival of the morning time. This gives us hope that change is coming. But more importantly, we have cause to “rejoice in hope”.

If you believe that God CAN do what He says and He WILL do it when He says He will do it, then even whilst it is still night you can stop weeping and start rejoicing. The weeping “may last”, but does not have to last through the night. Though it is yet night, you now know the darkness will not persist, it will roll away and give way to the light of morning time. And as surely as the morning will come, it will arrive with the expectations of your heart. So you rejoice in hope!

Believing in hope against hope on account of the promise of God, Abram, in Genesis 17:1-8, changed his name to Abraham. He did not feel any shame in repeating what God is saying about him. And he did not concern Himself with what his neighbours will think of his mental state when he, a childless old man with an equally aged wife, should suddenly go about introducing himself as “the father of a multitude of nations”. Rather Abraham was of a buoyant spirit, rejoicing in hope. He kept on giving glory to God because he was fully convinced that God is able to fulfil His word (see Romans 4:16-21).

Hope fills the heart with joy. If you can be hopeful in the midst of the difficult circumstances, then the devil, the enemy of your soul, cannot steal your joy.

Our “hope” as Christians is the expectation we have that future events concerning our lives will turn out just as God said they would. And “faith”, which is having "assurance of the things we hope for" compels us to “act now” (presently) in a way that accords with the future which the word of God gives us cause to expect. It is not “pie in the sky”; it is believing in God our Creator and Father, and therfore speaking, thinking, and acting like Him - He calls into existence the things that do not exist!

By choosing to “Rejoice in hope” we are making a faith decision to focus on the plans that God has for us and not to dwell on the contrary evidence of present circumstances. Difficult times will not last forever – “joy comes with the morning”. God will be God! He is not man that He should lie about His ability or about His desires for us! His thoughts for His people are thoughts of good, not of evil; to give them an expected end!

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12). “Hope does not put us to shame…” (Romans 5:5)