Jeremiah 29:11
God Gives Us Hope
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.
John 8:12
Jesus Said that He is the Light
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 16:33
Jesus Overcame the Troubles of this World
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Acts 4:12
Jesus is Salvation for Each One of Us
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Isaiah 40:30-31
Those Who Hope in the LORD Will Renew their Strength
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
1 Corinthians 13:11-13
Hope, One of Life's Great Attributes
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Hope is a great thing in life...St. Paul, as he was aging, wrote about hope as being one of the three greatest things in life...And I hope in the LORD and hope that He will always give me the strength I need to live...And the LORD promises us hope when He told the Prophet Jeremiah, "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...Hope is a gift of God...Hope is not an escape reality, but hoping in the LORD is wanting a fuller and abundant earthly life with the faith of a redefining life in the Kingdom of God...
Atheists do not believe in God or Christianity...And they are in this sense, they are negative on God and Jesus...Bertrand Russell, a noted atheist, said “The secret of happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible, horrible, horrible.”...This makes me feel bad, because there is no where to go with this statement and be happy, so it is not the secret of happiness for me...And another noted theist, Richard Dawkins, says that ‘The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.”...This statement also leaves me feeling sad...How can this world have absolutely no design, no purpose, and absolutely no evil or no good?...I believe I have seen evil in this world, and I believe that goodness can overcome the evil of the world...I see these statements as living in a world of little hope...
Jesus, on the other hand, did say in this world we will have troubles...But He came to save us sinners from our sin, and to be our Savior and our salvation....He died for these things for mankind...Jesus is goodness and He said that He is the Light of the world and whoever follows Him will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of Life...To seek God is to seek His Son...To seek His Son is to seek the Light of Life...And believing in God and the Light is reason for living...
So while statements like the world is a terrible and horrible place and there is just random blind pitiless indifference in the universe, leave me feeling down and in a low and sad mood...A world of no hope and no meaning or purpose is a very sad and dark world indeed...One who holds to the belief in God and His Son are given great hope...A Savior and His Salvation are a Great Hope for life, and it brings eternal life...And why do I feel good and a higher mood on a sunny bright, well lit day...The Light is uplifting...I feel somehow the Light of Jesus makes me feel better...And a dark world is a world of despair...And we get to choose what kind of world we live in with our faith...We get to choose the kind of world we live in by what we believe in or not believe in...We get to choose what kind of world we live in by believing that the Bible is God’s Word, and believing the four gospels are truly about an Historical Figure named Jesus...