We were created to breathe in hope. Every soul needs hope; it is the God-designed, standard setting for the human heart. When we have it, our souls flourish. But when the “elpis” or hope is snuffed out, we lose confidence and the oxygen we need to live and fight on. Hope is an attitude that says the best is yet to come. Hope is the expectation that based on the death and resurrection of Christ, good is coming our way. Hope is based on what God has promised an overflowing, Spirit-enriched life of purpose and destiny.
We have an enemy that wants to destroy our hope. He knows the human soul lives on it. He knows hope attracts God’s promises to our lives. He knows it’s impossible to believe God is good and not expect to see Him do good things in the lives of those we love. The devil is out to defeat us by getting us to leave behind our helmet of salvation and hope. He works overtime to defer it, delay it, break it, destroy it.
We must remember that “surely goodness and mercy will follow” us all the days of our lives (Psalm 23:6). Deep in our spirits, we know that God will work on our behalf. Hope believes that God will do great things, hope protects our mind, and tempers disappointments we experience. The helmet of hope makes sure we are not permanently defeated by the weapon of discouragement. If we put it on every day, we will be not beaten. A significant battle we all face, day in and day out, is over hope. We can overcome the devil by putting on the helmet of hope and salvation and reminding ourselves of the hope we have.
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls (Hebrews 12:1-3).
