Let Me Tell You About My HOPE {Psalm 70-72}

To hope is to cherish a desire with anticipation; to expect with confidence. 
 According to the Bible, hope can breathe new life into a wearied soul, while the lack of hope can drain the life right out of you! (Pr. 13:12) Hope holds that much power over us!

So let me ask you, what have you place your hope in?

__Some may say, eating right and exercising, and there’s proven benefits from that, but it still can’t guarantee us a long healthy life.

__Some may place their hope in money, investments, and a good education, which are also great things to have, but still can’t guarantee a perfect career or, life.

__Others may place their hope in other people -parents, spouse, friends, neighbors, and co-workers, etc. but we all know that not even OUR best intentions can guarantee that we will follow through with all we’ve promised, and neither can others.

I believe David got it right. We see here in Psalm 71 David is at the end of his life. Psalm 71 is actually the prayer of an old man who has walked with God his entire life:

In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.  Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.  From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you." (emphasis mime) 

David was a king who had everything; money, power. He was the commander of the army, yet it’s so comforting to know that from the beginning to the end of his life his hope never wavered in the “Sovereign Lord”.

Did you catch the name David calls God in these verses? In order to strengthen our hope, I went on a search to define this Name for God. I want to share what I found in an article written be Chip Ingram on the Biblical definition of sovereign:

There is absolutely nothing that happens in the universe that is outside of God’s influence and authority. As King of kings and Lord of lords, God has no limitations. Consider just a few of the claims the Bible makes about God:

·  God is above all things and before all things. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He is immortal, and He is present everywhere so that everyone can know Him (Revelation 21:6).

·  God created all things and holds all things together, both in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16).

·  God knows all things past, present, and future. There is no limit to His knowledge, for God knows everything completely before it even happens (Romans 11:33).

·  God can do all things and accomplish all things. Nothing is too difficult for Him, and He orchestrates and determines everything that is going to happen in your life, in my life, in America, and throughout the world. Whatever He wants to do in the universe, He does, for nothing is impossible with Him (Jeremiah 32:17).

·  God is in control of all things and rules over all things. He has power and authority over nature, earthly kings, history, angels, and demons. Even Satan himself has to ask God’s permission before he can act (Psalm 103:19).

·  That’s what being sovereign means. It means being the ultimate source of all power, authority, and everything that exists. Only God can make those claims; therefore, it’s God’s sovereignty that makes Him superior to all other gods and makes Him, and Him alone, worthy of worship.

Just as peasants always bowed before their king for fear of offending the one who had the authority to take their life, God’s sovereignty compels us to bow before Him. But unlike corrupt earthly kings who abuse their authority to terrorize their subjects, God rules in love. He loves you and wants the best for you.

And our hope can rest in Him. 

I think of Caleb and Joshua, coming back with the other 10 spies, who never waived in their hope that God would help them conquer the land He’d given them. And Hannah, who got up and ate after praying, for her hope that she would bear a children was in her Sovereign LORD, and even David as a boy up against Goliath.

I believe all of us have mountains, or giants before us, and an enemy who is constantly trying to keep us feeling defeated, but there is more than just your faith at stake here, which is why I LOVE this Psalm! Notice verses 14-18,

As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long— though I know not how to relate them all.  I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.  Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.  Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. (emphasis mine)

Nothing builds greater HOPE than hearing the testimonies of those who have gone before us and witnessed God’s sovereignty in their situations! We’ve got to tell others what He has already done for us!

Blessings!

sue