Hope

 You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth.   — Psalm 71:5

The ancient road from Jerusalem to Jericho is a narrow, treacherous path along a deep gorge in the Judean wilderness. Its name is Wadi Kelt, but it’s known as the alley of the shadow, for this is the location that inspired David’s 23rd Psalm. The place itself offers little reason to compose such a hopeful poem. The landscape is bleak, barren, and perilously steep. It’s a good place for thieves, but not for anyone else.

When David wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” (v. 41), he was in a place where evil was an ever-present reality. Yet, he refused to give in to fear. He wasn’t expressing hope that God would abolish evil so that he could pass through safely; he was saying that the presence of God gave him the confidence to pass through difficult places without fear of being deserted by Him. In another psalm, David said that the Lord was his hope (71:5).

Many claim to have hope, but only those whose hope is Christ can claim it with certainty. Hope comes not from strength, intelligence, or favorable circumstances, but from the Lord. As Maker of heaven and earth, He alone has the right to promise hope and the power to keep the promise.   — Julie Ackerman Link

Our strength and hope is in the Lord —

We rest secure in His sure Word;

And though we’re tempted to despair

We know we’re kept within His care.   — D. De Haan

READ: Psalm 23

Hope for the Christian is a certainty — because its basis is Christ.

The Bible in one year:

• Psalm 23-25

• Acts 21:18-40