Hope in God's Promises

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation. (Psalm 42:5)

The first candle in the Advent wreath we lit at church yesterday is the "Hope" candle. In life, hope is a wish or an expressed desire. I have hope in the future based on past experience that, in general, things turn out for the best.

In faith, hope is rooted in God's promises. Our God is a faithful God in whom we have hope, hope to deliver us from evil.

Today, the promise of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus delivers us in life. The psalmist in today's psalm begins with a familiar passage in verse one and two: 'As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God' (Psalm 42:1-2)?

Christ is that "living water" (John 4) in whom we no longer thirst (v 10 - 15).

Pray with me: Gracious and merciful God, I pray that I no longer dwell in turmoil, but that you and you alone give me that hope to bring peace in my life. Peace is knowing that in spite of what I face here in this life, I know from the hope I have in Christ that I will one day rest. This hope found in faith is my deliverance. For that, I humbly say thanks. In Christ's name, where I find hope, Amen.