Hope

¹⁷ This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ¹⁸ "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will any one hear his voice in the streets; ²⁰ he will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick, till he brings justice to victory; ²¹ and in his name will the Gentiles hope."

Matt. 12: 17-21

One cannot live without hope. We each "hope" for a better tomorrow. It does not matter how old or how young we are, we each find those things that give us hope. For many, that hope gets dashed on a regular basis. When we lose our hope we fall into despair. It is important that we put our hope upon a solid foundation that will not disappoint us.

Sometimes our hope is for simple things. Like, getting through the night, the examination, the end of the week or for the safe passage of a loved one. But, it helps if one's hope can be in something larger than the here and now. I read the following quote on a young lady's blog who is struggling with stage 4 colon cancer.

HOPE is the ability to hear the music of the future...

FAITH is having the courage to dance to it today.

The New Testament proclaims that our hope as people of faith has to be in the God who made us. Nothing else is big enough. It is the rock upon which one can build their spiritual house. The passage above in Matthew which quotes Isaiah says that our hope is in the Messiah. Justice and mercy are joined in a way that brings victory over death. Our hope is built on nothing less.