Have you lost hope? Life a struggle? Don’t give up..read on

Someone challenged me once because I used the word hope. “It’s too wishy-washy, and there’s no certainty in it”, they said. I explained that hope in the Bible always carries a definite promise. It is the difference between a man who plans to buy a ticket for a journey and a man who has already bought one. Both look forward to the journey in hope, but only one man is certain he will go. 

Life can be full of disappointment and worry, and it can be difficult to stay positive. But those who follow Christ have hope and can see beyond their circumstances. 

In John 21, we see the disciples struggling. Jesus had died, and they had seen him resurrected, but He had been gone for weeks. They’d been fishing all night and caught nothing. This was another failure to add to the list. Peter’s denial, their scattering when Jesus was arrested. They are likely full of guilt and shame. But as dawn broke, someone stood on the shore watching them. Jesus was there, seeing them in their struggle before they even recognised him. Let this sink in. Our hope comes not from our success, but from the fact that Jesus truly sees us. Loves us despite our shortcomings.

 “Cast your net on the right side,” he called out. They obeyed, and suddenly their nets overflowed with fish. Jesus hadn’t forgotten them. He had been watching, ready to meet them in their situation, their exhaustion, their sense of failure.

This kind of hope transcends our circumstances. When we feel lost in life, efforts seem pointless, and when we’re haunted by past mistakes, Jesus stands on the shore and calls to us. The hope we find in Christ isn’t a vague optimism or positive thinking. It’s a concrete assurance that God has our back and calls to us to trust him, whatever we’re going through. 

Will you put your hope in Jesus today?