This is the question that often comes to the serious inquiring mind. What exactly am I to do to fulfill God’s hope in me? The Bible gives us some insight for us to explore. We need to question ourselves as to how serious we are in learning what we yet must do to satisfy God’s hope for us individually. Do I have the courage to discover, to pursue, and to change and transform in my quest to do His will?
The first evidence of God’s hope for us is that which He said to Adam and Eve. He asked them to TRUST and OBEY. Sadly, for all of us, they did neither. And all too often neither do we. We struggle to trust in God. The reality is the struggles we have in following Solomon’s recipe he provided in Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord, and don’t rely on your own understanding.” We tenaciously insist on having understanding, indicative of incomplete trust in our Lord.
Proverbs 3:5-6 New King James Version
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
The next evidence of what God is hoping from us is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-6:
Deuteronomy 6:4-6 New King James Version
4 “Hear, O Israel: [a]The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
And expanded in Leviticus 19:18:
Leviticus 19:18 New King James Version
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Jesus quoted these two as the two greatest commandments and hence God’s hope for us to abide.
Matthew 22:37-40 New King James Version
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40 The Message
37-40 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”
The next evidence of what God is hoping from us is found in Micah 6:8:
Micah 6:8 The Message
8 But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
Micah 6:8 New King James Version
8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 Living Bible
8 No, He has told you what He wants, and this is all it is: to be fair, just, merciful, and to walk humbly with your God.
And now we come to the final refinement of what God’s hope is in us, the new commandment of Jesus, John 13:34:
John 13:34 New King James Version
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:34-35 The Message
34-35 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”
In summary, God hopes we will genuinely and completely trust and obey Him at the expense of our understanding; love the Him with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; love our neighbor (whomsoever is in need) as ourselves; act justly with mercy and compassion, loyal and authentic in our love and walk in humbleness before Him.
How I pray can we do this? Surely not alone in a vacuum. We must fully rely on Jesus Grace, The Father’s Love, and the Communion with the Holy Spirit. This becomes our reality when we are humble, realizing our weakness and need in the light of God’s omnipotence and love for us.
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TURNING POINT
Fulfilling God’s hope in us is really rather simple. I have found that the beginning is the development of a truly authentic trust in the Lord. Upon that foundation all God hopes for us will follow. The evolution of such trust comes fully when we see God’s presence and blessings as we experience it. When we face challenging circumstances, consider: God is asking , “Do you trust Me?” What will I answer?