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REFLECTION
The theme for our reflection is “Hope in the Lord.” Hope in the Lord means to have confidence in His promises and faithfulness and to be assured that He is responsible for one’s well-being and salvation. Having had a strong and fulfilling relationship with God throughout his life, David greatly admonished his people, ” Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore. (Psalms 131:3). David teaches us two things about putting one’s hope in the Lord:
1. Hope in the Lord keeps us humble.
2. Hope in the Lord brings contentment.

Beloved in the Lord, when we put our hope in the Lord, we shall remain humble because He is sovereign and in charge of our lives. “My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me” (Psalms 131:1). When God is in charge of our lives and we truly put our hope in Him, we trust and obey His word or commandment. His commandment humbles us and encourages us to walk in total submissiveness to His will. Jesus demonstrated humility through His hope in the Lord when He prayed in Gethsemane, “My Father if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39). The Lord’s will is His Word. When we put our hope in His Word or have confidence in His will, He sees our humility and hears our prayer. “Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honour and life.” (Proverbs 22:4) It is rather unfortunate that some of us become haughty or arrogant when God blesses us with wealth and riches. We soon forget the Creator and rather put our hope in His creation. In other words, our source of pride and hope is in the creation of God and not in God the Creator. We are being called upon to reflect on our relationship with God and to put our hope in God. Job is another great example of a man who put his hope in the Lord both in times of abundance and scarcity. After losing everything, he still had hope in God and in total humility said “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.” ²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:21-22) When our hope or confidence is in the Lord, we are consistently humbled and allow His will to be done in our lives. We are greatly encouraged to put our hope in the Lord because He is Omnipotent and sovereign.

Secondly, hope in the Lord brings contentment. David wrote, “…I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.” (Psalms 131:2) David testified that his relationship and hope in the Lord is like a baby and his mother. Like a baby being catered for by the mother, David experienced the providence of the Lord in His life and that gave him great contentment. Dear friend in the Lord, lack of hope in the Lord leads to anxiety. Anxiety does not bring contentment but causes stress, depression and unfulfilment. Some people have committed suicide because they never found contentment and satisfaction in life. They had no reason to keep on living if nothing brought them fulfilment. Many are living a life of hopelessness and are constantly living in fear, despair and depression. There is no sense of contentment and sufficiency in their lives. Jesus teaches us to put our hope in the Lord when said “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:31-34). Again, let us be calm and do our best even as we put our hope in the Lord for “godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8). Dear friend, living without hope in the Lord leads to emptiness and depression. Hope in the Lord leads to a purpose-driven life with great contentment. The elusive desire to possess and hoard worldly possessions in abundance has been the source of anxiety and depression for people who lack godliness and contentment. Beloved in the Lord, put your hope in the Lord, pray and work to the best of your ability and God will bless you with enough that will bring you great satisfaction and contentment. We are feeble and limited in our abilities and strength therefore hope in the Lord makes us derive great encouragement and satisfaction or contentment through our relationship with Him. Paul further admonished us that “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10). Let us be hard working but most importantly put our hope in the Lord, for the Lord has assured us in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

In summary, we have deliberated on the theme “Hope in the Lord” We have discovered through our reflection that hope in the Lord keeps us humble and brings us great contentment. Shalom.

PRAYER
Almighty God, in You we put our hope. Strengthen us to remain humble with great contentment even as we experience Your sufficient grace and providence in our lives. Amen.