A past filled with difficulty and broken relationships can overshadow the present. Though we have been forgiven our sins and have turned away from them, we are not automatically freed from the struggles of sin. If we are not careful, we can allow these struggles to sap our enthusiasm for life and douse our hopes for the future.

Hope for the future can provide great encouragement for the present. The promise of deliverance makes it possible to continue in the process of spiritual renewal. Zechariah’s book in the Old Testament part of the Holy Bible is a fascinating study of how God, through His prophets, led His hurting people from hopelessness to commitment, through self-examination and transformation to a deepening spiritual perception. It is an account of rebuilding and spiritual renewal.

Disappointment can lead to Despair
When faced with disappointment we have a choice: we can nurture our negative feelings, or we can confront them and find a solution. The people of God chose to hold onto the disappointment that came from exile. This led to despair. To avoid despair we need to give our disappointments to God and confront those aspects of them that we can change. As we use the keys to spiritual renewal, we will find that our feeling of despair will pass. But we can not just passively wait for our transformation. We need to become actively involved in God’s plan for our spiritual renewal.

Hope Encourages us Today
Zechariah’s visions of the future gave hope to the people, helping them face the tasks their present. Our hope of God’s complete transformation of our lives can encourage us to endure the pain that may be part of our spiritual growth today. We won’t always feel so hurt and confused. If we follow God’s will for us in faith, we will experience His transforming power and discover the joy that only He can give.

Hope for the Grieving
1 Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1 Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Our hope of resurrection is an encouragement today to live for Christ. It also helps to encourage one another with the hope of meeting in eternity our loved ones.
Last Sunday (in 2016 April), I was sharing this message of hope in our church here, as one of our sisters lost her mother recently. Our grief is controllable due to this hope unlike the people in the world who have no hope beyond the grave! Because He lives, I have hope for today, tomorrow and for eternity. Hallelujah! Amen.
Be encouraged!

By A. Othniel