WHY WE SHOULD HOPE; Case Study: JESUS CHRIST.

Hope means different things to different people in different ways. However, I will define hope as a sense of trust that something we desire would happen no matter what. In this article, I will illustrate this definition using the life of Jesus Christ according to the Bible, as a Case study to drive home my point on "Why We Should Hope".

Hope is a crucial necessity for man, it's like an oxygen that we need to live life and survive; without it, we are useless and lost. We sleep each day hoping to wake up the next day, right? No one goes to bed and expects to die from sleep, why is that? It's simple, it's the sense of trust that you'll wake up from sleep the next morning, which is HOPE and that's what am talking about.

God the Almighty wired every of his living creature to have this sense of trust for each day. The humans, animals and plants all have this "sense of trust " for survival , which is Hope. So without wasting much time I will give you four good reasons, Why We Should Hope.

1) It's a Necessity : Hope is the driving force one needs to survive and fulfill destiny. If you lose Hope, you lose your power to live and your destiny automatically. Hope and Power to live are both intertwine, you can't do without the other. God, our creator, created the world with just his words because he believed his words are powerful and will manifest all that he desires (read Genesis 1 and 2 For more insight on creation ). So, if the creator, who made heaven and earth, and even you, would exercise Hope to create ,I don't see why, you the created shouldn't live hopefully. Nonetheless, If God who knows everything would Exercise the power of Hope to achieve his desire in creation, it means that Hope is as important as Life.

2) For Strength : Strength is quite an important aspect of life, without strength we can do nothing, likewise Hope. I will put it this way, strength is powered by Hope. Hope is needed in our life for strength, it's the strength we need to live life each day. According to Isaiah 40: 31, God promised to renew our strength as we wait on him to give us our desire, meaning, you can't wait without Hope, asking someone to wait is the same as asking someone to Hope. We wait because we hope that what we are waiting for will be achieved. So in Isaiah 40:31, God is basically promising strength to those who hope on him for their desires. Jesus wouldn't have fulfilled his destiny on the cross without Hope. Hope was his driving force, moving and pushing him towards the cross. Hope kept him going, till the end of his journey on earth.

Let's imagine this, the son of God, sent into the world to live a poor life and then die afterwards, for sins he never committed. Why would a father require that from his only begotten son, and why would a sensible son agree to this madness? (John1:14) you may ask. I will tell you; Jesus Christ agreed to comply or obey his father's request base on these three major reasons, and they are:

• LOVE: The love of the father, Jesus loves his father so dearly. He knew how much his Father loves his creation, especially the Humans, which he made in their image. He has also come to love this Humans Just like his father. And for this reason, he couldn't fold his hands and do nothing when he knew he could save them. John 3:16, Romans 5: 6-10.

• THE ONLY WAY: He knew that his blood was the only way to save man. There was no other way or option. It is HIM or nothing else. So, he had to choose to do the right thing, he wasn't forced or compelled. He choose to die to save man because of love of the father and man which he made in their image. John 14: 6, John 10:17-1.

• THERE WAS A REWARD: The reward that his name would be the greatest name ever existed. The reward that at the mention of his name that every knee shall bow and confess that he is LORD (Phil 2:9-11). The reward, that his name will be the gateway for prayers to be answered, that demons will be cast out in his name (mark 16:17), also that demons will tremble and bow at the mention of his name (John 14:14). Authority and power was bestowed upon his name and personality (Acts 4:12, Matt 28:12). And so many other tangible rewards that I can't mention here because of space, which today we as Jesus followers are enjoying, John 14:13, Rom 10:13, Acts 3:16. Everyone who believes in him automatically becomes a partaker in his numerous rewards that was given to him by his father, Acts 4:30.

Now, you understand the reason behind the sacrifice that happened centuries ago. It is because of this sacrifice that we have Hope for salvation, that when we confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior that our sins will be forgiven and forgotten and that all things will become new for us, 2 Corinthians 5:17.

However, Jesus was brought up with a silver spoon, but when he came to earth for his Assignment, he threw all that reputation away so he could fit in and fulfill his destiny. He humbled himself (Phil 2:6-8), so he could accomplish his purpose and receive his reward. He went through a lot of shame, insult, mockery etc, that didn't deter him as he continued with his quest to save man with his blood. What was the driving force, pushing him to keep moving forward? It was Hope, 2 Thessa 2:16, Rom 15:4, Lamentations 3:26; he hoped that if he endured the persecutions, humiliations, that at the end, man would be saved as his father would have his lost children back while he also would get his Desire (reward). If Jesus Christ the son of God would exercise Hope in order to fulfill his destiny and calling (Rom 5:3-4), then you also can do likewise; (Heb 12:2).

3) For Joy: Joy is like a medicine that soothes the heart. Without joy, life would be a struggle. Joy is an energy booster for Hope. When you have Joy, your Hope stays alive; without Joy, your Hope dies. My point is, you can't live hopefully without exercising joy. Joy makes the road or journey to your destiny look smooth even when the road is rough. It makes it worthwhile. A bitter person who lacks Joy will soon lose his or her life Hope for survival. I encourage anyone reading this article, to make it a task to live Joyfully, in other to keep Hope alive. Jesus went through his life journey joyfully. According to Luke 9:58, he never complained, of not having a roof over his head, or any kind of luxury that would have existed around that time. He basically didn't have any kind of luxury but was still happy, moving around, healing the sick, raising the dead, forgiving sins etc with his disciples. Because he was a joyful person, no amount of persecution, insult, or mockery from the Pharisees, Saducees and the Scribes could change his mind or make him complain, rather he kept his eyes and mind on the cross. What am i saying? Am saying that a joyful spirit helps one to push out negative words said to them, that can hinder and destroy their hope easily. Joyful People don't stay angry for too long, they don't allow bad words to bring them down as they quickly push it away and continue with their life positively. If Jesus could live Joyfully and didn't allow those negative words said to him, to affect his attitude towards the cross, we also can do same.

4) For Peace: Peace is another energy booster for Hope. Peace is a relaxed state of the mind. It is the sense of relaxing your heart even in the midst of chaos, Phil 4:7.

Hope can't survive when the heart is panicked or troubled, all the time. A troubled heart brings confusion, when confusion comes in, doubt follows and then gradually your Hope is gone. Peace nonetheless is what we need to keep our Hope alive.

When Jesus was arrested and taken to Herod, and then later to Pilate, Luke 23:7-46, if you notice, he never panicked, his heart was at peace with the whole situation. He never complained or got angry when he was been flogged or spat at by angry mob, remember, he was innocent. If he had allowed his heart to be troubled, he would have gotten confused about everything as he would have started doubting if the reward was worth the sacrifice.

Again, let's not forget that the sense of peace is what helped him to overcome fear, when fear tried to show it's face at the mount of olives, Luke 22:41-46. The peace of God strengthened him to choose to continue with the will of his Father. In other words, peace helped him to choose right, which is, to do the will of his Father. Choosing to do the right thing helped him to overcome fear at the mount of olives. Peace helps our mind to think straight in a chaotic situation, in other to take good decisions that will help our Hope to keep thriving. So let's be like Jesus as we allow peace to reign in our hearts and minds.

In addition, you may be wondering that all these things mentioned here for "Why We Should Hope", is too "Good to be True" or that it isn't possible to have all these qualities. The truth is, it is possible to have and see Hope as important, need it, as your strength, Exercise joy and peace with the help of Jesus. Yes, you may also think that it's easy, that it's easy to have Hope but the truth in general is that, if you don't have Christ in you which is the Hope of all Glory (Colo 1:27), It would be impossible for you to live a Hopeful life. You'll keep losing hope in and out of your life journey.

Over the years, a lot of people have committed suicide, why would they do that? They lost their Hopes. So it's very easy to lose hope in this world of ours, with the numerous challenges lurking around. A lot of people have left projects unfinished, why is that? because they lost their Hopes too.

The journey of life have shown that one way or the other, we encounter challenges that causes our Hope to die, leaving us Hopeless and useless.

I will briefly list three reasons why we lose our Hope and three Solutions too.

REASONS WHY WE LOSE OUR HOPE :-

1) Selfish Desires: When you pray amiss or desire things that God didn't desire for you, things that could harm or destroy your life journey, destiny or soul, It's very likely that your prayers won't be answered by God. Selfish people with selfish desires get their Hopes dashed when their plans don't materialize, James 4:2-3.

2) When You Don't Seek God's Will And Plans:- Most believers chase life as if it's there's to fulfill alone. We still live life like the unbelievers rather than living life in God's will or plans. Whether you like it or not, or whether you believe it or not, our life journey has been planned and prepared by God before we even began to exist. However, it will be wise for us to keep seeking out God's will and plan for our lives before we start hoping for anything at all, to avoid unnecessary disappointment. For example, if you put your money in a fruitless gamble like a Punzy Scheme, hoping to get a reward without seeking God's will towards that, and then ends up losing your money. It means you have wasted your time hoping that a lump sum of money will come out of your fruitless venture, that's exactly what I mean by avoiding unnecessary disappointment, because indeed there are necessary disappointment we have to go through in life in other to actually fulfill our destiny.

Nevertheless, not seeking God's will or plans for our life before embarking on a project can make one to lose their Hope, when the project comes crumbling down. So, find out God's will for your life and do it.

3) When You Don't Live Purposely:- Not discovering your purpose in life can cause one to lose Hope. We are all created by God with a purpose to fulfill, which is part of our destiny. Finding out what these purposes are, makes it easy for us to know exactly what to be doing or chasing in life. Living life unpurposely Is quite dangerous. It is indeed a scary thing to live life not knowing what you are meant to be doing with it. It makes it easy for anyone to influence your mind with their own life ideology. If the person's ideology is bad then you will live with the consequences which makes it even more scarier. Now you see, it's easy for one without a life aspiration or dreams to live life based on what others think or do, and when they end up not achieving the same results the person they are copying is achieving they tend to lose Hope as they feel cheated with life and wonder why the person they are looking up to or the person they are copying is succeeding more than them. Moreover, some people end up not feeling good enough with their lives, as they end up committing suicide.

SOLUSIONS:

1) Selfless Desire:- Start living a selfless life. Life is not all about you. When your desire come from a place of love, it's easy for your desire to be actualize without you losing your hope. Good life desires are desires that tend to affect other people's Lives positively. When your desire is to bless others with the good things God blesses you with then your Hope definitely will take you to your desire. God doesn't hold back his blessings from those who are willing to give sacrificially just like Jesus. Luke 6:38, Jesus told us that, if we give, it shall be given unto us.... A selfless heart is a heart that gives sacrificially. Jesus desire was selfless, because his reward (desire) was not just for him but for everyone who gives their lives to him for safety. His desire was for all, he wasn't selfish. If he thought of others while on the cross, then you can do likewise. However, if your desire or want in life are borne out of selflessness, then, hoping for that desire will definitely not be a waste of time, it will

be achieved, so hang in there.

2) Seek God's Will And Plans:- Keep on seeking the will of God and plans for your life and obey them just like Jesus did, John 5:30. When you seek out his plan or will for your life. It makes it easy for you to know exactly what to hope for, in other to protect your heart from losing hope on stupid adventures . Jesus knew God's will for him on earth which was to be the sacrifice that will save man, which helped him to channel his energy rightly . Following God's will and plans for your life, makes it possible for your Hope to stay alive and bring your desires to pass, Heb 10:7, John 6:38.

3) Live Life Purposely :- Just like I said earlier, you can't live life blindly by following other people's life's ideology. Find your purpose and start living it, that's simple. If you are asking, how can I discover my purpose? The answer will be "prayer". Prayer is a process of talking to our God, the invincible God. It means communicating to God with all your heart desires, wish and challenges and he'll answer. Through prayers and supplications we get to make our request known to God who promises to answer, Phil 4:6-7, Matt 7:7-11.

In conclusion, if you look at the three problems and three solutions listed above, you'll see that, they are the same, the only difference is the approach; there is a positive approach to life and a negative approach to life as well. It all depends on our choices. So choosing to take the positive approach to life, automatically, keeps your Hope alive; while a negative approach destroys your Hope, leaving you empty.

Now, it's no doubt that Hope is a necessity to our living and survival, likewise strength, joy and peace; they are the energy boosters of HOPE, without them, our Hope for life will die. No one is too big enough not to need Hope. Hope is for everybody and for every living thing on earth and in heaven. God used it in creation and is still using it till today in heaven. Jesus also used it to accomplish his destiny at the cross, and his still using it today in heaven on our behalf, as he keeps interceeding to God on our behalf. He is also hoping that he will not lose any of the souls which his father has given him till the last day, John 6:39, 1Tim 2:5, Rom 8:27. What am i saying? am saying that, Hope is constant, it's for everyone both you and me, big and small, rich and poor. Hope is our zeal to accomplish life, fulfilled. And it is through the power which is in the name of Jesus Christ that you can acquire such kind of Hope. Jesus Christ is our Hope, our strength, our joy and our peace, do you see that. Jesus Christ is Hope itself, that's why he can't fail, because whatever he hopes for, he gets. And anyone who ask him for Hope to accomplish their own destiny, just like he did, will definitely get it. Some people avoid ventures that pushes them to exercise Hope because of fear of failure or disappointment, but the truth, is that, fear to fulfill your destiny automatically makes you a failure or a loser. Losers are afraid to live life or hope for anything. You are an overcomer because Jesus has overcome the world for us, so go out there and succeed. No one has come to Jesus needing something that has gone back empty. The woman of Samaria met Jesus at the well feeling empty and later left filled with Hope and Joy as she went about testifying of the Goodness of God through Christ his son (John 4:4-42). You too can be the next, just ask and you shall receive, Matt 7:7.