A Door of Hope

A Door of Hope

"Therefore I will speak tenderly to her....and will
make the valley of Achor a door of hope."
Hosea 2:14-15

So many of the Christmas cards we receive each year carry the message of hope with them. One card I received today said "May God bless your holidays with hope and peace". Another quoted the prayer of Paul in Romans 15:13:

"May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with
hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Hope, that positive expectation of good things in the future, that feeling that things will turn out for the best, that looking forward with confidence and trust, is essential to our facing the difficulties and troubles of life. Some put their hope in medicines that they take, others in people who might help to change their situation, but our sure and confident hope is in the Lord our God and in His love and mercy. David wrote in Psalm 39:4

"But now O Lord, upon what am I relying? You are my only hope."

Hosea wrote about God opening a door of hope in the valley of Achor, or valley of trouble. And that is exactly what God does. In those times of trouble in our lives, he comes in and offers hope for the future, opening a door of hope in our lives as we look forward to what lies ahead. Solomon taught that "there is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be disappointed". Jeremiah added that God has "plans to prosper you....plans to give you hope and a future", or as another version says "a future filled with hope".

The Christmas cards and their messages of hope are more than a coincidence or the creativity of card makers. The birth of Christ represented the dawning of a new hope for mankind, hope birthed in a manger in Bethlehem to a people living in darkness and oppression, with an indefinite future before them. He came to give us victory over oppression, to reveal His plan of salvation and to unveil the future for His people. The blessings we live in and enjoy are the fruit of the hope born in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago.

The most important prayer I could pray for you this Christmas season is that God would fill you with an overflowing hope, an expectation of good things ahead in your life as you allow the Savior, the one whose birth changed the course of history, to come into your life in a new and fresh way.


God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church