Compelling Love

Throughout the many trials we each face in life, God gives us strength and light when our hope and faith are in Him. David, for example, explores the reason for his hope in Psalm 8, and sees that God has created people to be crowned with glory and honor:

¹ Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!
You have covered the heavens with Your majesty.
³ When I observe Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You set in place,
⁴ what is man that You remember him,
the son of man that You look after him?
⁵ You made him little less than God
and crowned him with glory and honor.

In Psalm 39, David prays declaring that God is the source of his hope:

⁶ Certainly, man walks about like a mere shadow.
Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain,
gathering possessions without knowing who will get them.
⁷ Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

Psalm 84 describes the present joy and glorious future for those who trust in God:

¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield.
The Lord gives grace and glory;
He does not withhold the good
from those who live with integrity.
¹² Happy is the person who trusts in You,
Lord of Hosts!

Psalm 97 describes how light dawns for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart:

¹ The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coasts and islands be glad.

⁶ The heavens proclaim His righteousness;
all the peoples see His glory.

⁹ For You, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted above all the gods.
¹⁰ You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects the lives of His godly ones;
He rescues them from the power of the wicked.
¹¹ Light dawns for the righteous,
gladness for the upright in heart.
¹² Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous ones,
and praise His holy name.

David prays In Psalm 139 describing how God saw him before he was formed, and that all the days of his life were written before a single one of them began:

Psalm 139
¹³ For it was You who created my inward parts;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You
because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.
¹⁵ My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in Your book and planned
before a single one of them began.

The Apostle Peter declares in 2 Peter 3:15, “Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”  In 1 Peter 1 he describes the living hope that believers have received through resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ from the dead:

1 Peter 1
³ Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ⁴ and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. ⁵ You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials ⁷ so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Darlene Zschech writes regarding these promises:

“The good news is that when we build our lives around the future God has promised to us, the glorious hope we have in Christ Jesus, our present reality is all the sweeter. Life is not stifled but set free. We truly do taste the joy of heaven when we live for God today.  It’s a good thing to enjoy and explore the life and present reality God has given us. But it’s even better when we experience this life in view of eternity.” (“Revealing Jesus: A 365-Day Devotional”, March 29 devotion)

Paul prays that believers will know the hope of the Messiah’s calling and describes the glorious riches of His inheritance among us:

Ephesians 1
¹⁷ I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. ¹⁸ I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength. ²⁰ He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens— ²¹ far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, https://compellinglove.net/, 3/3o/14
(Bible Quotations are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.)