2 Corinthians 1:19-20

Tim Lucas considers the hope found in Jesus

Tim Lucas

Life is diverse. Life is complex. Life is individual. For each of us it is different.

If we met up today and I asked you to tell me what is hanging over you - what is the one thing that you would automatically think of when I asked what you are going through - what would it be? For some of us it's a job interview, or a promotion, or passing a driving test, or getting great exam results, or buying our first house, or getting engaged, or getting married, or making new friends. For some of us it's the greatest of experiences, the happiest of memories and the most joyous of times.

Yet for some of us the first thing we think of is very different from that. What's hanging over you? For some of us it's the loss of a loved one; it's a diagnosis; it's redundancy or unemployment; it's failing the one exam we needed to do well in; it's having 'that' argument with 'that' person; it's breaking something precious. For some of us life does not fill us with joy.

What are God's promises? There are many verses in the Bible that you could pick to try and get to the bottom of this, but if you were to pick an Old Testament verse you'd probably land somewhere around Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." If you were to pick a New Testament verse, a good one might be 1 John 4:8: God is Love. When we actually understand who God is and what He is like, we can begin to fully understand the kinds of promises He would make: ones to prosper you, filled with hope and future purpose, and ones drenched in love.

In Christ all of God's promises are 'yes'. All of the plans to prosper, give you hope, give you a future, and to let you know you are loved are 'yes' in Christ.

This is both a reminder and a prayer. For those of us who would respond with great things happening to them; for those of us who would immediately say that things are 'going their way'; for those who would say that joyous times are hanging over them: that is something of the promises of God being fulfilled. It's a reminder that He, and not you, is the reason why you are prospering, hopeful, with a seemingly bright future and feeling greatly loved.

And the prayer? If you are still struggling with the loss of that loved one; if that diagnosis is still ringing in your ears; if that redundancy or unemployment is continuing to have a massive influence on your life; if failing that exam is still filling you with dread about what might yet come; if 'that' argument still angers you and breaks your heart at the same time; if that precious thing remains broken and still makes you feel broken; if you are, right now, becoming incensed that I've just written these as a list, as though they're just overviews and not actual issues - then know that this doesn't have to be the end. Know that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus there is a 'yes' being said to all of God's promises. Know that there is still a future, there is still a hope, and there is still a promise to prosper. There is still love.

Whatever is hanging over you today - be it joy and celebration, or helplessness and despair - there is something else hanging over you. Because of Jesus there will always be something else hanging over you; as a reminder or as a prayer. It is one of the most powerful prayers you can pray over someone, and it a constant, unchanging fact of our faith.

And I pray it over you now.

Because some of you need to hear this. Some of you need to know that the situations you are facing don't have to be the end. Some of you need to know that the things you are going through don't have to be the defining factor in your life. There is something else hanging over you.

Something powerful.

Something long-lasting.

I pray one word over you, and that is the simple word: Yes.