First, when Jeremiah’s “target audience” was expecting the worst, God expressed His best for them. The people were absolutely hopeless. They were not hopeless because they thought their future was bleak; they were hopeless because they were not certain they would have a future at all.

The Lord knew their mind-set and invited them to replace their self-induced thoughts with the thoughts God had for them. Not only would they have a future, their future would be one of hope and goodness as well. What a juxtaposition! Phenomenal!

We should – and can – go and do likewise.

Second, this scripture reminds me of the indelible relationship between faith and hope. The world engages in countless discussions about faith; this Washington Post – Newsweek feature is called “On Faith.” Interestingly, however, the world has a relatively limited number of intelligent and intelligible discussions about hope. If “faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of unseen things,” then it would stand to reason that a community of faith would and should discuss one of the critical components which determines—and even defines—faith: hope.

Once hope is defined, understood and applied, thousands—if not millions—of lives literally will become transformed positively and productively.

Walter Brueggemann, a noted contemporary American Old Testament theologian, defines hope as the “unflinching conviction that God’s promises are true.” When your belief system and behavior pattern reflect that conviction, you are positioned to change your world from the way it is to the way God wants it to become.

God wants to give you hope.

Third, hope has been so used, misused and overused in social and political arenas, without regard of its rightful, spiritual place in today’s society, that it has lost its initial meaning and therefore its significance. Contrary to today’s nomenclature, in its intended God-given context hope is resolutely powerful! When properly applied, the hope of one person can transform a life, a family, a community and even a nation.

With hope, you have the potential to transform your world.

Lastly, although the process of transformation takes time, we will not lose heart or be sidetracked because we have hope. Hope reminds us that God thinks of us in ways that are good, not evil. Hope gives us confidence to look forward to tomorrow. Hope invites us to become empowered and act in new, better ways. Hope gives you and I a future – the future that God prefers for us.

May your future be God’s preference for your life!