“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
This statement of Paul’s is just as applicable to us today, as it was to his readers 2,000 years ago. God has ensured that we have access to His word, so that we can be instructed regarding His character, and have hope of something better.
This future hope is a persistent theme throughout Paul’s writings. He continues later in the chapter, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” It was this hope that sustained Paul throughout the numerous trials of his discipleship, and it is the same hope that can sustain us in our daily warfare against sin.
Hope is what sustained Abraham, David, Ezekiel, Jesus, Paul, Mary, John, and so many others. Through Christ, we have hope of an unimaginable future, and I can’t wait to experience that with you.
“O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas… those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.”