For whatever things were written before were written to instruct us, so that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4

One of the points of these meditations which come to you each week is that “through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures (we) might have hope.” Yes, Bible teaching (like reading the Bible) is supposed to give us hope…and it does.

For example, we can turn to God’s breathtaking promises in His Word like this one: “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Heb 13:5-6). There are times in life when being reminded of God’s faithfulness can make all the difference between hope and despair.

We can follow the example of those in Psalm 107. This psalm recounts all the troubles of people without any hope at all. In each case, “They cried out to the Lord in their trouble” and He delivered them (vv 4-6, 13, 19).

In His Word, God “has given us his exceedingly great and precious promises” (2 Pet 1:4) both for now and for the future. Knowing how God has worked with people in the past and His promises for the future can encourage us and give us hope.

Seeing how God has rescued so many in Scripture and infused His people with hope, can help us grow in our own trust and reliance on Him. This can lead us to continue building our relationship with Him; experiencing His rescue and hope for ourselves.

In 2017, God gives us yet another opportunity to dig into His Word and the teaching of His Word so that we “might have hope”.