Choose Hope...in what?

    There are many catchy "hope" phrases: "Hope Matters," "Hope Endures Forever," "Hope Anchors our Soul," "Hope over Fear" and "Choose Hope."  But what do these phrases truly mean? I would agree that "hope matters," but really it depends on what your hope is in. If your hope is in getting married to the right person and having a family and that doesn't happen, then are you left without hope? If "hope endures" and your hope is to go to college and get your dream job, but then you get fired from the job, does hope no longer endure? You see where I am going with this idea of believing in nebulous hope. 

    In the book of Hebrews, we do see a reference to hope as an anchor, "We have this hope [God does not lie and will fulfill His promises] as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf." I can get behind the phrase, "hope anchors our soul," since the hope is in Jesus Christ as the one who fulfills the prophecies set in the Bible. 

    Following this line of thinking, that Jesus is our hope, then if we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we can choose "hope over fear." Upon our salvation through Jesus Christ, we as believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirt of God, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). So when we rely on the Holy Spirit, we have hope over fear, "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7). 

    "Choose Hope," is a similar catch phrase to those seen on T-shirts lately, i.e. "Choose Joy," "Choose Happiness," or "Choose Kindness." The Prophet Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:21-26 (NIV) about who his hope was founded upon:

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my potion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

    Jeremiah essentially said that when he chose to put his hope in God, the LORD was compassionate, faithful and good to him without fail. Now, that is a hope that matters, that endures, that is an anchor for your soul, or as the Prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 40:30-31 (NIV), "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." So apparently the catch phrase, "Hope Floats," isn't too far from the truth, but our hope isn't just staying afloat, it is soaring!

Psalm 71:14 (NIV), As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.