Location, Location, Location


1 Timothy 4:9-10
9The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

“I hope I make it into grad school.”
“I hope I get a new bike for Christmas.”
“I hope it’s a boy.”
“I hope it snows for Christmas.”

We’ve all uttered sentences like those above about some desire or another. And with all of these statements, we find that we are misappropriating the word hope. We’re stripping hope of its power. When this strong word is used by God, it carries promise and confidence, for our hope is set on the Living God! Real hope is not simply a pie-in-the-sky kind of feeling. And the reason for that confidence lies in where we set the foundation for our hope. Along with Paul, who wrote this letter to Timothy, may we find our hope resting on the Living God.

In our sin-filled minds, we sometimes set our foundations in places that ultimately will not hold us firm. We pick up our own strengths and expect them to support our lifestyles and choices, such as our job, our family, our friends, our own intellect, and our own resourcefulness. All of those will eventually crumble and we will find ourselves in a desperate place. So in the end, it’s all about location. What have you chosen as the location of your hope? Do you stand on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, or do you count on yourself? It’s an important question and one that will eventually demand an answer.

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less (An ancient hymn of the church)
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
No merit of my own I claim
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Redeemed to stand before His throne!
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

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