PHILIPPIANS 2:24

“and I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly.”

Hope spring eternal! That’s not in the Bible. It’s from Alexander Pope’s poem Essay on Man. The Bible, however, is full of verses about hope. We can’t live without it, but don’t need it once we die (if we go to heaven). I have hoped for a lot of things in my life. Some of them were probably not the best for me. Other things, like a healthy baby or grandchild, are definitely worth hoping for. Hoping for something is okay as long as you consult the Lord first. Hopes become prayers, don’t they?

Paul is hoping to go visit the Philippians as soon as he is released. He says, “I trust in the Lord.” The NIV says it a little differently. “And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.” The Greek word used there by Paul is peitho which is the root of pistis, faith. Paul had faith that he would be allowed by the Lord to visit Philippi again. Some scholars believe he did and perhaps visited Philippi a total of four times. I guess we will find out for sure when we meet him in heaven.

APPLICATION

What should you be hoping in? Please don’t tell me you are hoping to win the lottery! Our hope is not in the world’s riches or in anyone here on earth. Our hope belongs solely in Jesus. Paul said this over and over in his epistles. He was convinced in the Lord. In Romans 14:14, he says, “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus…” Later in 2 Thessalonians 3:4, Paul writes, “We have confidence in the Lord concerning you,…”

If Paul could continue to have hope in the Lord and be convinced by Him, we should do the same. Think of all the trials Paul went through. He lists some of them in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. I won’t list all of them here, but some were beatings, stoning and shipwrecks. He is writing this letter to Philippi as he sits under house arrest probably chained to a Roman soldier.

Where is your hope? Who or what are you hoping in? Hope does spring eternal in the heart of man, according to Pope. But we know as followers of Christ that our hope truly is eternal. One day, when we reach heaven, our hope will be fulfilled. There will be no need for any more hope. Why? Because we will be in the presence of the hope giver.

Father God, let my hope always be pointed towards You.