Focus: The Rope Of Hope

Text: Ps.62:5

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him."

Do you ever look at yourself in the mirror and talk to yourself? Like David, do you ever encourage yourself in the Lord especially when life lies to you and everything around you collapses or goes bananas? The psalmist is talking to himself right here. He says in essence, 'My soul, wait only on God. Make the Lord the sole source of your hope! All you ever need and hope for in this life will only come from God.'

God alone in this world is wholly trustworthy. Man has the potential to fail, and so hoping on one's fellow man is a very risky thing to do.

Let me tell you something about hope. God says to His people through the mouth of Jeremiah, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an EXPECTED END" (Jer.29:11). The word 'expectation' in our text or 'expected end' in Jer.29:11 is 'tiqvâh' in the Hebrew. It has to do with a rope. In Joshua, we read, "And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet LINE in the window" (Josh.2:21). The word 'line' is tiqvâh - the same as 'expected end.' 

Hope is like a rope - a strong cord. In one sense, it is with the rope of hope that we tie ourselves to God's promises.

The thread of hope is a strong anchor for the soul. The promises of God have the rope of hope tied to them.

God is constantly where His word is and goes wherever His word goes. Mark reports, "And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord WORKING WITH THEM, and CONFIRMING the WORD with signs following. Amen" (Mk.16:20). God sends and follows His word.

In Rom.15:13 God is described as "the God of hope." He gives us hope and fulfills it. He is the promise-keeper. He says a thing and does it. God "hath given us everlasting consolation and GOOD HOPE through grace" (2Thes.2:16). In God we find good hope, and apart from that, God is the hope of His people. Paul wrote, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord JESUS CHRIST, which is OUR HOPE" (1Tim.1:1). Christ is our hope. The psalmist says, "For thou art MY HOPE, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth" (Ps.71:5). God is our tiqvâh - our cord or rope of hope. We hold the rope and pull it to ourselves. We draw it closer. Paul says that "now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Rom.13:11). God's word puts in our hands the rope of hope. With the cords of hope we tie ourselves around God. The cord of divine hope can never be broken.

Through faith and prayer we pull the rope of divine hope closer to us.

In Job we read, "Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I LONG FOR!" (Jb.6:8). The word 'long for' is also tiqvâh. It is the same as in our text - "my expectation is from him." It is in God's power to bring into your life the things you long for, and it is also in His power to bring to pass in your life His words of promise.

Jeremiah declares, "And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border" (Jer.31:17).

Hope in God's promises is the thread with which we twist ourselves around God and remain glued to him. God through hope has made us a forward-looking people, God-dependent beings, hope-embracers, and rope-holders and rope-pullers of faith. 

The word of God is our rope of hope and by faith, obedience and prayers we pull closer to us the divine promises.

Tell yourself: O my soul, wait on God; be assured that your tiqvâh - your rope of hope! Your expectation of God shall not be cut off. The God of hope is the guarantor and guarantee of your hope in Christ. Hold on to the rope of the divine hope! Divine hope is never destined to disappoint. Hold tenaciously to that rope of hope. Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter