The NIV 365 Day Devotional
Hope
Many of us are trapped inside our own walls. Sometimes we’re afraid to hope for a life free of hurt or pain. We don’t want to be disappointed again. We may think we don’t deserve a better life. Or we may assume that our faith is too small to get us through the process of change.
But we can break the chains of our past by putting our faith, no matter how weak or strong, in our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
This starts when we begin to believe that God exists and that we’re important to him. And in this belief, we find access to the one true Higher Power, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:6 informs us that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Psalm 62:5 points us to the source of our hope: “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.”
In working this principle we come to understand that God wants to fill our lives with his love, joy and presence. One of the much-loved parables of Jesus is found in Luke 15, the story of the lost son. On the surface the account is about a father’s love for his drifting son, but its deeper message is of the unconditional love of God the Father has for us. God’s love is looking for us, no matter how lost we may feel. And God’s searching love can find us, no matter how many times we may have fallen into sin. God’s hands of mercy are reaching out to pick us up and to love and forgive us.
It’s in Jesus Christ that we find hope. We find that eternal life doesn’t begin with death; it begins with faith. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith for us: “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” We can’t find salvation through intellectual understanding, monetary gifts, good works or church attendance. No! The only way to salvation is described in Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
All we need is a little faith to begin the journey of freedom from our hurts, hang-ups and habits. Faith—even faith the size of a tiny mustard seed (see Matthew 17:20)—is the only avenue to salvation and freedom. When we put whatever degree of faith we have in Jesus, he promises that our lives will be changed. We’ll find the hope for which we’ve been searching for in the only Higher Power, Jesus Christ. His Spirit will come with supernatural power and move into our hearts.
Simply put, life without Christ is a hopeless end; with him it is an endless hope.
Taken from the NIV Celebrate Recovery Study Bible.