Real Hope

         One of the things we like to have is "hope."  We can hope for a lot of things, some of them will come to pass and others are probably not going to happen.  I used to send in all of the Publisher's Clearing house requests but have since stopped even opening up their mail.  I don't see any hope in Publisher's Clearing House prizes.   Possessing hope in a hopeless world while being confronted with hopeless situations can be one of the greatest blessings of all.  Men and women today are plagued with more problems and difficulties in life than perhaps any other time in our history.  We have created a fast paced society in America where we often find our schedules packed to the brim with meetings, appointments, schedules and things that we would like to do.  When plans go wrong, many find themselves faced with feelings of despair and wondering just how they can get out of the situation in which they find themselves.  Paul wrote about the grace of God that indeed offers hope to a hopeless people.  Titus 2:11-14 says, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."  
       In fact, of the 122 times that grace is mentioned in the New Testament, Paul mentioned it 85 times.  It is also only mentioned twice in the Book of Revelation, in chapters 1 and 22, mostly in the greeting and the closing of the book.  Paul reminded Titus that he should be looking for "that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ..."  No matter what is going on around us, we can always rely on this truth.  Our problems and our worries, our sufferings and our concerns, whatever we might call them, will all fade away when Jesus will come again.  It is a hope that transcends everything else around us.  It won't matter how many things are left on your "to do" list, or how many appointments you have that day.  It won't matter how many bills are unpaid, how many X-Rays you need nor where you will get the money for your taxes.  When Jesus comes, it won't make any difference.  You won't have time to get dressed up, put on a tie, a new dress or fix your hair.  When Jesus comes, you will stop everything and your eyes will be focused upon Him.  All of this to say, that your problems today, your concerns, the things that you have to do, your sufferings, or whatever else might be plaguing today, means very little in light of the "blessed hope" that we have.  So, if you are gasping for air and thinking that you are going down for the third time, take a deep breath and focus your attention on the wonderful grace of God.  Praise God that He gives us real hope that we can count on.