Great Hope for 2019!

Hope is not Automatic
Out there in the world, and in the sad heart of mankind, fear and anxiety are more common than hope. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast" may be a distinguishing trait of human beings  - we need something on the horizon to keep us going. But worry is more characteristic of daily life in a fallen world. So much so that Jesus preached a sermon about not worrying, repeating the command again and again, "Do not worry."

To get to hope, to get up hope, requires a work of God's Holy Spirit in our hearts, and his work always comes through his Word.
 
A Scripture which inspires great hope for 2019 is Psalm 46.

 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.’

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

The Psalmist is filled with Hope!
That's the first thing we notice. "We will not fear", he says ultra-confidently; even if  the world falls apart! Even if the very worst happens. He says to himself as he looks to the future, that no matter what, he will not fear! This is supernatural hope!

The Psalmist's Hope comes from God's Power
But notice where his courageous hope comes from. He is not confident in himself or in any human power or achievement. He is hopeful because God is with him, God is his refuge, God is his strength, God is powerfully at work in the world around him, breaking the bow, shattering the spear and burning the shields with fire. His hope is in God alone!

The Psalmist's Hope leads to silence
Finally, because the Psalmist is filled with Hope, we notice that he can rest securely and quietly. And God commands us to do the same, "Be still and know that I am God." Anxious people are fretful people forever "on the go" unable to bear silence, lest it bursts into worry! Hopeful people, by contrast, can down their tools and rest in God's peace and security.


Whatever 2019 brings, we need not fear, we must not fear, we should not fear, for God is with us!