hope

I think there is a fear in some evangelical churches of telling people to put their hope in God. It is almost as if people are afraid of giving hope to others about God for fear that people will get their hopes dashed if God doesn't come through on their timetable. But the reality is that hope is essential to the Christian walk. In 1 Corinthians 13, the three most important ingredients are faith, hope, and love. How can we remove one of the largest aspects of the Christian faith. The reality is, we need to press into God until we see Him meet our needs. Look at the woman with the issue of blood in the Gospels. She pressed through to Jesus for healing until she received it. And look at the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18. Perserverance and hope are essential in the Christian life. In our instant gratification, microwave culture the church too often looks for means to cope and adjust to life's problems rather than hope and persevere in Him until change occurs. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We have to continue to persevere in faith and be in the Word until we see what we are believing occur, all the while living in surrender and asking God to change us so that if the negative fruit we see happen is by reaping what we have sown, we sow differently.