Hope in Jehovah, and Be Courageous !

[Queen Esther]

Hope in Jehovah, and Be Courageous !

“Hope in Jehovah; be courageous and let your heart be strong. Yes, hope in Jehovah.”—PSALM 27:14.

There brothers and sisters genuine hope is like a bright light. It helps us to see beyond present trials that we may be passing through now, and gives us strength to face the future with courage and joy. Only Jehovah can give us a sure hope, which he does by means of his inspired Word. (Read 2 Timothy 3:16) In fact, the words “hope,” “hoped,” and “hoping” appear over 160 times in the Bible and refer both to the eager and sure expectation of something good and to the object of that expectation.* Such hope is superior to a mere wish, which may have no foundation or prospect of fulfillment. So When we are faced with trials and hardships, we should keep in mind Jesus fine example. Jesus looked beyond the present and hoped in Jehovah. “For the joy that was set before him he endured a torture stake, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Read Hebrews 12:2) Because he was keenly focused on the prospect of vindicating Jehovah’s sovereignty and sanctifying His name, Jesus never deviated from his course of obedience to God, no matter what it cost him. King David is another fine example he points to the connection between hope and courage, saying: “Hope in Jehovah; be courageous and let your heart be strong. Yes, hope in Jehovah.” (Read Psalm 27:14) If we want our heart to be strong, we must never let our hope become vague but always keep it clearly in mind and close at heart. Doing so will help us to imitate Jesus in manifesting courage and zeal as we share in the work he commissioned his disciples to do. (Read Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) Indeed, hope is placed alongside faith and love as a vital, enduring quality that characterizes the life of servants of God.—1 Corinthians 13:13. Brothers and sisters we have a wonderful future before us. Anointed Christians eagerly await serving with Christ in heaven, while the “other sheep” hope to “be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the [earthly] children of God.” (Read John 10:16; Romans 8:19-21; Philippians 3:20) That “glorious freedom” includes deliverance from sin and its horrible consequences. Indeed, Jehovah—the Giver of “every good gift and every perfect

present”—would extend nothing less to his loyal ones.—James 1:17; Isaiah 25:8. So to keep trusting in Jehovah we need to imitate Jesus, our Exemplar, he thrived on God’s Word. By considering him closely, we avoid ‘getting tired and giving out in our souls.’ (read Hebrews 12:3) It stands to reason that if our God-given hope grows dim in our mind and heart or if our focus shifts elsewhere—perhaps to material things or to secular goals—spiritual weariness may soon overtake us, eventually leading to loss of moral strength and courage. In that frame of mind, we may even experience “shipwreck concerning [our] faith.” (1 Timothy 1:19) On the other hand, true hope strengthens our faith. We now so close to the time the bible call God's new world we all need to keep trusting in Jehovah and keep out hope alive Gods new world is soon at hand