Equipped for Hope

Excerpt from "Words of Hope"

All Scripture is

 God-breathed

 and is useful

for teaching, rebuking, correcting

and training in righteousness,

 so that the man of God

 may be thoroughly equipped

for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Every day we witness circumstances of people equipped for action. Whether it be big-league sports, the medical profession, those who work in finance, construction, customer service or a myriad of other jobs, leaders and workers are most successful when they are well-equipped, furnished with the tools they need, armed with information, and appointed to the correct position to carry out the task at hand.

 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Because God has given us the tools we need to be thoroughly furnished for every circumstance in life, we are equipped to hope.

Romans 5:18 records that “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations…” Joshua 6:23 tells us that Rahab had hope in the promise of two spies from Israel—“the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her…” Because she hoped, waited in expectation, her family was saved from annihilation as the walls of Jericho collapsed around them.

1 Samuel 1 tells the story of Hannah. She longed for a child. She grieved and fasted while calling upon the LORD to answer her prayer for a child. Verse nineteen tells us “Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.” Verse twenty describes what happened next, “So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the LORD for him.’”

Throughout God’s Word, we read the truth of life after life changed by believing God. What does that mean for you and me? How are we equipped for hope? We find the answer to those questions within the Word of God:

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. (Acts 16:31)

Trust in the LORD not yourself. Acknowledge Him in everything you do. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Study to know the truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Glory in the cross alone. (Galatians 6:14)

Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Simply put, developing this pattern of living means believing God. I cannot begin to explain the number of ways I fail. I praise God that He does not seek human perfection but rather sees you and me in right standing with Him once we kneel at the cross and come to Him through the blood of His One and Only Begotten Son—Jesus. It is then, and only then, that we are equipped to hope!

© Joyce L Powell