Years ago, I worked as a Project Assistant for the Arizona Game and Fish Department on a trout habitat below Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. We arrived by boat near the diversion tunnels at the base of the dam, and as he jumped out, my boss wrapped the rope around a large rock. After working a while, I went back for supplies. Climbing over a rock outcropping, I panicked! The rope had come loose, and the current was rapidly pulling the boat downstream.
I took a gigantic leap for it. Into the cold water I went, just catching the side of the boat. Crawling inside I was able to start it and bring it back to the shore. If the boat had gotten away there is no telling how long we would have been stranded. No one knew we were there and we were in a low-visibility, restricted area.
It made me think: How securely anchored are we to the hope of God’s plan of salvation?
The apostle Paul shows us how hope works: “… we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:2-4 NIV).
Once God calls us, revealing His plan of salvation to us, He offers us hope. Various trials, though, cause us to suffer, producing perseverance, then character, and that character results in greater capacity for hope, looking toward that day when God fulfills His promise.
“This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God himself (Hebrews 6:19 TLB). God’s unchanging nature and purpose tells us that God’s plan of salvation has never changed, therefore our hope in Him is real, and not in vain.
Abraham believed, in hope, that God would provide the promised heir through Sarah, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Romans 4:18). Will God say the same thing about us? That a tiny, scattered flock of brethren believed—in hope—and they did not waiver regarding His promise?
“…when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3 NIV). This purification process cannot happen without being firmly anchored to God, His laws, and His way of life. This all happens through the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
In the “love chapter” 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle Paul lists three important things we must have: faith, hope, and love. And he continues in Colossians, “…we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel.” (Colossians 1:4-5).
Do our lives exemplify faith and love springing from the hope we have? Without that hope we risk drifting away from God. Let’s make sure that we’re firmly and securely anchored, so that we will be prepared for the day when we may be called on to give an answer for the hope that lies within us!
John Hinds