Unshakeable Hope

Psalm 71:5 “For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.”

The other day I was on a run. This particular run felt like it was lasting forever. The sun was beating down on me, and every gust of wind felt like the heat of an oven rushing over me. My entire body was dripping with sweat, and my face was as red as a tomato. My legs felt like weights, and ultimately my destination felt like it was far away. I felt like this run was never going to end.

Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t shake something? On that run, I couldn’t shake the heat. No matter what I did, I couldn’t shake my exhaustion. Sometimes, we think we can’t shake some bad luck. We think “it’s just not my day,” and we allow our experience in the morning to dictate the rest of our day. Maybe you’ve experienced a person that you just can’t shake. You are always bumping into this person--whether it is at the gym, or aisle nine at the grocery store, you just can't shake this person! Quite possibly, you could be the person who just can’t escape tickets. You are the person that gets pulled over for going five over the limit--and worse--it’s the mean cop that will actually give you a ticket!

There are many things in life that we feel like we just can’t shake-whether it is humorous, a good thing, or something quite unfortunate.

However, there is one word that once grasped, is proven to be truly unshakeable. In Psalm 71, the Psalmist writes about this special word: hope.

The Psalmist declares “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more” (Psalm 71:14).

This verse assures us that true hope is unshakeable. Through the shed blood of Jesus and His resurrection, we have unshakeable hope. The writer of Hebrews provides a beautiful illustration for our unshakeable hope. In Hebrews 6:19, it reads: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”

When the waves get higher, the wind gets stronger, and the storm rolls through, the anchored boat is not moving! That is because of the anchor that is holding it in place firmly and securely! The same can be said of our lives when our circumstances take a turn for the worse. The times when our health declines, our financial situation gets difficult, or our employment is up in the air are extremely difficult.

Yet, our hope remains firmly established because our hope is in a trustworthy person, the god-man Jesus Christ who has saved the sins of the world. Our hope is not in this place, our own lives, or our own perception of success; rather, our hope is in the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth! Therefore, our hope cannot be thwarted. May we never hesitate to trust our God in whom our hope is secure! Our anchor cannot be shaken. Today, choose to remember that we have unshakeable hope.

Choose it, rep it, live it,

Josh Lane