Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”  NKJV

             David said in Psalm 37:25 – “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.”  In verse 24 he speaking of the righteous he said, “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand.”  I do not believe there is any conflict in the three passages cited here or in the remainder of the biblical message.

Is this a guarantee that we will not have problems or that we cannot as Paul described in 1 Corinthians 9:27 become a ‘castaway’ or ‘disqualified’?  Is this a guarantee that we will not or cannot as described in Hebrews 10:35 – “…cast away our confidence…”?  Is it a compilation of the promise in Romans 8:28 that “all things” are working together for our good?  I believe, strongly, that God has promised to keep us against that day and NOTHING can separate us from His love.  Although I am very aware that circumstances, conditions, events, and assaults on our lives can bring us to the brink of despair that God has promised to NEVER leave us nor forsake us.  I also believe that this is descriptive that IF we ‘cast our burden on the LORD’ He will sustain us.  Do you see one small caveat or possible problem here?

The instruction is to CAST our burden on the LORD and that is a requirement for the remainder of the promise.  If we refuse to gather under the shelter of his wings as Psalm 91 describes and we trust the Arm of flesh rather than coming to him, taking His yoke upon us and allowing Him to be supreme in our lives we place ourselves outside the scope of the promise of the second portion of the verse.  BUT, if we do CAST our burdens on Him then we are assured that He will not permit us to be moved!  That is a powerful promise!

Therefore, IF we believe the Bible then would that not be an encouragement for each of us to be obedient in casting our burdens on the LORD?  In my humble opinion, IF one believes that by turning to the LORD, rolling our cares on Him and allowing Him to engineer the course of our lives according to His plan would afford security, safety and victory what sense would it make to not do so?  The only reason we would not is that we do not truly believe the Bible nor do we truly trust God’s promise.  I know that is a bit harsh and strongly stated but examine it before rejecting it.

When I consider the life of David I can readily understand how he would have developed a mentality of trust toward the LORD.  God repeatedly demonstrated His faithfulness to David and David either trusted or repented for failure and ran to the LORD.  Most of us, if not all of us, have experienced God’s faithfulness.  I know that in the times I have truly cast my burden on Him He has proved His Promises!  It did not always transpire as I thought it should or even in the timeframe I had in mind but God NEVER FAILED and He NEVER WILL.

May God be with you as you go through this day!

Colossians 1:25-29 – “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is,  the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”  NASU

In my years of Christian ministry, I have observed people becoming what I would call bored in their experience.  They go through the same ritual every Sunday.  Someone said, “You could leave most churches and be gone for months or even years and come back knowing exactly what they would do and what would be preached.”  I hope that is inaccurate.  I hope we have not become always the same!  I hope it is not the same song, hymn, prayer, testimony, and sermon.  I hope we are not people who are ever trying to recapture or recreate that Blessed Experience, trying to remember what it was like, how it felt, etc.

The HOPE we have in Christ is the consummation of the whole Kingdom of God.  It is not simply the Great Escape it is Life in the Fullest.  I believe in the Coming of Jesus for His church and believe that will be a Glorious Day when we finally enter into that Eternal Rest in Heaven.  But, what about now?  I am not living to escape but to enforce the victory that Jesus won at Calvary and see the Harvest of God gathered into His barn.  When Jesus comes that will be the grand finale of what we are to be already enjoying in His Covenant.  We have a past, a present, and a future, so we dare not get caught up living in a vacuum in the middle of those two realities.  It is Christ in you, the Hope of Glory – NOW!  It is now not in the sweet by and by.  We have God’s Promises for NOW.  The Pardon we received, the fellowship and interaction with the Holy Spirit is NOW!

Remember the Prodigal Son?  When he finally came to his senses and began his trek home, he prepared his speech.  He was going to tell his father, “Father, I have sinned against you.  Make me as one of your hired servants.”  Do you realize that a ‘hired servant’ is not just a servant?  The servants live on the property all the time. The hired servant came in at harvest time and lined up in the market HOPING for a job.  He was the odd job laborer and hired by the day.  The Prodigal was saying to his father, “Dad, forgive me. I’ll go live in the village, and at harvest time, do me a favor and give me a job.”  That is ALL HE EXPECTED!  But, his father sees him a great way off and embraced him in FORGIVENESS.  The son got out his speech and began but everything suddenly changed.  WHY?  The father would not let him finish. He reinstates him as a son.  He said, “This is my Son!  He was lost but now is found.  He was dead but is now alive.”  That opened a whole new life for the prodigal.

That’s the picture I hope you see.  When we came to Christ PARDON would have been sufficient.  But, as we studied and learned the Word of God we discovered that there was MORE!  We discovered that EVERYTHING God has Promised is ours.  But, when we came to Him we did not know that.  It is as we learn, grow, and develop that we find that God gives, and gives, and gives, and gives…

Believer, we need to move past the past and live in the present in God.  We need to learn to live in HOPE and EXPECTATION that His Promises are ours and we can expect them and enjoy them.  Don’t pitch your spiritual tent around Forgiveness as vital and wonderful as that is.  Don’t settle for what God has done but focus your eyes on Him and look forward to what He is and will do.  Live in HOPE!  Remember the words of Jesus in Luke 12:32, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”  GOD WANTS TO BLESS YOU!

That is where we are to live in HOPE!  It is Christ in us that is the Hope of Glory.  We, as believers, are people of HOPE!  We are those who have a positive, unshakable, confidence that what God said He will do, He will do!  We live in a state of Excited Expectancy and are filled with Eager Desire.  WE ARE PEOPLE OF HOPE!  Not as the world gives but Hope that God gives!

God, bless you as you embark on today’s journey in Jesus!

Colossians 1:25-29 – “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is,  the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”  NASU

As we addressed yesterday, HOPE is rooted in ‘eager desire’ for what God has said and promised.  It is filled with ‘persistent expectation’ that His promises are present realities in our lives.  It is anchored in confidence that no matter what happens or how things look the expectation will become reality.  It is the heart saying, “I know it is going to happen!”  That is biblical Hope!  It means that we can get up every morning with a tingle of excitement in our hearts.  It is a calm confidence that we will experience the Promises in fullness.  We look ahead to all our tomorrows and all our unlived futures and proclaim, “This is the day the Lord has made…”  It is a quiet confidence that in His timing and in His way, He is going to bring it to pass in my life.  THAT IS HOPE!

As I said yesterday, HOPE is deeply connected to FAITH and in a sense, it is faith.  Someone said, “Hope is faith shielding its eyes against the sunlight of adversity and saying, “I can see it!  I can see it!”  In life, we must operate in Hope and Faith.  The farmer operates in biblical hope.  They take that seed, that may look nothing like the finished product and plant it in the ground in hope and expectation.  They hope that seed will germinate and produce the plant that will produce the fruit desired.

When you first came to Jesus, you discovered the promise of the Bible that your God-given destiny was to become conformed to the image of Christ.  You read that in the Bible but you did not see it in reality in your life.  You had flaws, kinks, warts, blemishes, and more.  You refused to let what you could see determine your confidence in God and His Word so you HOPED.  It is “Christ IN us…” that produces the Hope of Glory.  You live in a state of eager anticipation for what God has said you are and what you hope to become.  You believe that one day, that Promise will be a reality in your life so you HOPE.

Remember in Genesis 3, God declared that one day the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.  Through the generations from the time of Adam to the New Testament and Christ’s appearing on earth that seemed far-fetched because of the condition of man’s heart.  But, Paul and the disciples HOPED.  Remember God’s Promise and covenant with Abraham?  God said that from Abraham would come one who would bless all the families of the earth.  David, the prophets all looked forward to the coming of the Christ and His Promised Work and Provision.  Generation after generation lived reading about the Promises and Hoping.  The Bible even says that they died in faith.  They did not see it become reality during their earthly sojourn but they kept looking forward in Hope and Faith.  Their declaration was, “I know He is coming.  I am absolutely certain that He is coming!”  They died telling their children, “Don’t forget, He is Coming!”

The beauty is that He is not a figure of history but a present reality living inside each of us!  He is our Hope of Glory.  We live in Hope!  We live in Hope that everything we have hoped for will be realized before we die or Jesus comes.  Let the eye of your heart see it and HOPE!  Jesus has come!  What they Hoped for is here!  Tragically, too many believers live without Hope and some live in despair.  Why?  Because too often we live in a vacuum.  What do I mean by that?

Many believers only see the reality that we have been Pardoned.  We readily believe that we have been Forgiven.  Some have even entered, into a vital relationship with the Holy Spirit.  They attempt to freeze that experience and proclaim “I’ve Got It!”  The thought is, “I’m saved, and spirit filled, so I’ve got it.  I have arrived at all God has for me on earth.  Now I must just endure the struggle.”  Then, each year we move farther and farther away from IT because that experience is relegated to our history rather than being our present.

I heard a very humorous but applicable story that I will share.  There was a man who decided to write down what had happened to him and he called it is “Blessed Experience.”  He kept it in a box hidden away in the attic.  Anytime he had a visitor he brought out that box and read his Blessed Experience to them.  He would say, “This is what happened to me.”  One day a visitor came and he sent his daughter to retrieve his Blessed Experience so he could read it to the visitor.  Sadly, she came back and reported that the rats had eaten his Blessed Experience.”  It was not reality but history and that is boring producing not growth development or fruit.  We need to have HOPE in Christ who is IN US.

I want to venture into this just a bit further so I will pause here and pick up next time with more on HOPE.  God, bless you richly is my prayer and desire!

Colossians 1:25-29 – “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is,  the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”  NASU

             I have far more to say than I can possibly deliver in the space available in a short devotional so bear with me as I try to hit the high points and hope you are inspired and encouraged to delve deeper into this gold mine of truth.  Hopefully, I will reach the destination of “The Hope of Glory” and how it affects believers today.  I will attempt to examine what Biblical Hope is, what Biblical Glory is, and pray it will enable us to come to a better understanding of “Christ in us, the Hope of Glory.”

The apostle Paul, in this passage, attempted to identify the essence of his ministry.  He said, “This is what I do!”  Paul traveled the known world teaching people and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The aim, goal, and vision of his ministry were to help people everywhere come to completeness, perfection, and wholeness spiritually.  His desire was that believers would become Spiritually Mature.  He called it “The Mystery” in the sense that the truth he was preaching and teaching were not apparent to the unbeliever but were available to all believers if they could and would receive it.  That Mystery was, “Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.”

You should have asked, “What does that mean?”  When Paul says, “Christ in you, the Hope of Glory” what does he mean?  We recognize that he is declaring something of great importance as he says, “This is what I teach.  This is what is going to make you complete, mature, and whole spiritually.”  That gets my attention!

The word HOPE has developed a bad reputation in today’s modern world.  It some circles, it is believed that if you HOPE, you are lacking in faith.  However, I challenge that based on the Bible’s teaching about the word.  It is a word that is found multiple times in the New Testament.  Sadly, I am convinced that too many misuse the word and adopt the world’s use of the word which is not remotely similar to the Bible’s usage.  So, what is HOPE?  I heard the definition expressed by a small boy when he said, “Hope is believing that you are going to get that, which anyone in their right mind knows you are not going to get.”  That is the idea in the world’s view and some of the church.  We can only Hope!

When the world talks about HOPE, they mean, “It is highly improbable that you will ever get what you are hoping for.”  Therefore, in that sense, it means that you are bordering on the impossible and to the average person it means you are clinging to a thread when all rational expectancy has vanished.  I’ve been in hospital rooms and heard, “Well, all we can do now is hope.”  That kind of Hope has disappointment deeply rooted in it.  Can you remember the dreams and visions of your teenage years?  How many of those are realities today?  Most people would acknowledge that those dreams have long ceased to exist.  Hope, as understood by the world and much of the Church is rooted in disappointment because people do not believe they are going to get what they are hoping for.  THAT IS NOT BIBLE HOPE.  The Hope of the Bible is founded and grounded upon Expectancy.  Biblical Hope means, “That positive unshakable confidence that a specific blessing from God will undoubtedly come to pass.”  In that sense, Biblical Hope is closely akin to Biblical Faith.

Bible Hope has eyes for the future!  It believes and expects!  Biblical Hope has a strong element of Certainty built into it.  The Hope of the world is founded upon disappointment and the Hope of the Bible is founded upon Certainty and Expectancy.  WHY?  Because of the God Factor.  God promised what He has promised and no matter how impossible it may look, God said it and His Word will NEVER return to Him without accomplishing His purposes.  Bible Hope is not FANTASY but it is an excited forward look with expectancy.  Remember the words of Paul in Philippians 1:20, “According to my earnest expectation and hope…”  The Amplified renders this, “My own eager desire, persistent expectation, and hope.”  THAT IS POWERFUL!  It is the eager desire.  It is the persistent expectation and a certainty that says, “I KNOW that it is going to happen.”  I HOPE in God!

I will pause here and offer a little more in the next devotional.  God, bless you richly is my prayer and desire as you enjoy this wonderful day in Him!