DECEMBER 30, 2022

  “Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” 

― Stephen King

ZECHARIAH 13-14

9The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.(14:9)

REVELATION 21

1Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^a for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^b or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

JOURNAL 

A new heaven and a new earth. The promise and hope given to those that are suffering and oppressed. This is the hope for those that are facing certain death in this world. The importance of hope cannot be denied. It is spoken of throughout the Bible and in prophecy and by Jesus himself. Hope is the sustaining message of the Bible. 

Psychologically I know this to be true. Studies have been done that affirm the importance of it in our own psychological health. We humans need something to believe in...

Hope keeps our minds at ease, lowers stress and improves physical health. Researchers studying heart-disease patients found that optimists were more likely than non-optimistic patients to take vitamins, eat low-fat diets and exercise, thereby reducing their overall coronary risk. A study of cancer patients revealed that pessimistic patients under the age of 60 were more likely to die within eight months than non-pessimistic patients of the same initial health, status and age. (TIME, May 28, 2011)

This hope is one of the distinguishable characteristics that separates us from animals...it is the calling of our soul for something better than what currently exists. That calling and yearn is proof that our souls know and seek something which does not exist on earth, it is the itch that cannot be scratched, the desire that cannot fully be filled and it is this truth that proves the existence of life beyond our present reality.

Thank you father for this truth...thank you that we always have hope and that hope can sustain and fulfill us in every moment of every day!

11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

ROMANS 12:11-12