In today’s day and age, people hold onto many things. Hope can be found in relationships, in family, in friendships, colleagues, and new friendships that are made. Hope is also found in more superficial realms such as materialism, possessions, and keeping up with the Kardashians. Maybe not as far as the Kardashians, but in the latest trends of fashion, news, and new platforms of media. Lastly, hope can be found in more solid elements of life such as one’s spirituality, career, passions, driving forces, politics, world views, one’s culture or one’s religion. Whatever the source, hope has a common theme. As individuals we hold on to hope. We hold on to something, and if we have a deeply ingrained hope, we do not let this go by any means.

Life calls for moments of celebration and desperation. Of logic and emotion. Of good times and hard times.

For me, my deepest hope is in Jesus Christ. Ever since I was a young girl, I have held onto a deep hope in Christ. Yet, in building a relationship with Christ daily in and daily out, I have developed hope. What I have found is hope is like a muscle, it is to be made stronger through two primary things I have witnessed in my own life.

First, by simply going through life like any human being. Life is messy, vulnerable, but so real. Life is not the board game where you ride along with a car as a game piece and you go through a sequential order of college, then marriage, and kids, and finally, retirement. Yes, life is sequential for the most part with how these events go for people. However, the way each person goes through this and they way external factors come in as elements of surprise is what makes life so unpredictably truthful in the way it unfolds. Through each and every experience I have gone through, I have found that there were many things that were out of my control. The only thing I had to hold onto that was absolutely firm was Jesus Christ. He alone was what stood solid, and firm.

Secondly, hope is developed in the growth of one’s belief and astute conviction that what Christ did in forgiving the sins of the world was just enough and more. He is the only one that could have done this task. There is a profound hope is simply believing the simple for what it is. That Christ alone came to die, and His death was accepted, accounted for, and totally real in forgiving the sins of each and every person. Beyond this, the hope that there is something greater out there. That heaven is for real. No, not the book (although I highly recommend it as a good read). There is a hope greater than what we are breathing, living, and experiencing now. There is hope in heaven as not just a place and destination, but as an eternity that holds beauty, glory, power, holiness, and everything that this messy life is not.

Hope is not something to be clung to, pinched lightly, or clawed by our nails. Yes, desperation for hope in this world is deeply needed. If you look around, there is a flood of events, After Christ died, He has given us the master key to unlock an eternal source of hope. We as Christian have this key. Hold this key with power, authority, and a knowing that Christ is the one and only hope that holds. Christ held onto the cross, and because of this, we can hold to Him. If he held onto the cross, he also holds onto us. When you think holding on to Jesus might be too much, remember that it was He who held on first. He held on long, hard, and through a great amount of suffering. Therefore, whatever you are going through, hold onto Jesus. He is hope. His character, his person, his actions, they are all HOPE.

Similar to the daily needs and operations where you use a key, such as your house key and car key, Christ has given us the ultimate key. Christ has given us the key not just to eternal life, but for a life on earth where hope can exist, thrive, and be ever-present even when we do not see, observe, or feel it in our lives. The truth is, hope is not a fragment of emotion or some mystical feeling. Yes, true hope can feel good. However, genuine hope is rooted in a knowing. A belief and knowing that cannot just exist on emotion alone. No, this hope rests and lies in the truth of what Christ has done for the world in His death on the cross.

Therefore, when this life gets messy and YOU feel like you just don’t know where to turn, rest assured that Christ is the KING to turn to and HEAVEN is your HOME that differs so much from the home you go to after a crazy or even awesome day at work or school.

So where is your hope? Your hope is in Christ. If you are not a Christian, find where your hope lies and let that force guide you when life comes at you in the good and bad alike.

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