Chris Bailey III - The Fog of Hope

It's a foggy morning on the banks of the Ohio River today. But the sun has a clarity and definition that you couldn't possibly see if there were no clouds.  Hope often works the same way.  It's not just the visibility, but the reality, that is it's strength.  It's where we place our hope that makes it false, or fierce.  The Bible teaches us that the believer's hope is in God!

Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD [there is] mercy, and with Him [is] plenteous redemption. (Psalm 130:7 KJV)

Notice how it specified "let Israel."  We often talk about the burdens of the narrow way, but a blessing of being a believer, a true Israelite, is that we identify with God beyond an affiliation, all the way to a trust.  

For in Thee, O LORD, do I hope: Thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. (Psalm 38:15 KJV)

Like a lantern holding a flame, we choose to let the Lord our God be the resting place for what we look for before we even find it.   So...

Blessed [is] the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. (Jeremiah 17:7 KJV)  

Do you see it?  It's not just that we hope in the LORD, but the LORD IS our hope!  Our anticipation, our our optimism, our it's gonna' be alright, is in God because He is the One who gives us hope in the first place!

​- Chris Bailey III