Hope Supplied

I was struggling through a difficult physical workout the other day. The difficulty was such that I thought I wouldn’t get through it. As I pressed on, I thought seriously about quitting. How much could I really do? When would I just need to give up? It was at that moment I heard the voice of the coach say to me, “Come on. Keep going. You can do it.” I pressed forward, even slowly. I endured to the end.

Life gets like that. The difficulty of relationships or financial burdens makes us think about giving up. Unexpected and unwelcomed health problems tax us physically and emotionally. There are times when we just don’t know how to keep going. We don’t know if we have it in us to finish.

This is the place where we need hope the most. We need to hear the voice of our heavenly coach reminding us that we can do it: “Don’t give up—you can do this. I am here for you. I won’t give up on you.”

“We have this certain hope like a strong, unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God himself.” – Hebrews 6:19 (Passion Translation)

I’ve thought that my ability to hope was dependent on my own emotional buoyancy, or more tenuous, my own faith. But the author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us that our hope comes from God. I don’t have to be the source; Jesus is my source.

I have hope because God has hope for me, and God hopes greatly. He can see more than I can. He sees the greatness I don’t see in me. His hope resides in my heart and empowers me to endure when I’m ready to give up. It is impossible to run out of hope because He is an endless supply! Jesus, my hope-supplier, never grows weary. He always has new ideas, new mercy, more grace and love than I could ever exhaust.

His unshakable, inexhaustible love for me is my supply line. He supplies my heart with what I need for today. He gives strength for the challenge, to press through. “Keep going. You can do it. I’m here for you.”