Daily Devotional | The Personal Side of Hope

Do you have biblical hope? The great nineteenth-century preacher Charles Spurgeon responded: “When you are cleaned right out, when even the last rusty counterfeit farthing has been emptied out of your pocket and you stand before your God as a wretched, starving and bankrupt beggar, your abject poverty and dire need will commend you to His mercy and love!”

Hope in the Lord is not abstract but gritty and realistic. Today’s reading begins: “Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD” (v. 1). The hope of Christmas is for you, today, no matter how dire your situation. It’s not only about Abraham and Messianic prophecy and the liberation of creation—it’s for each one of us personally. God has numbered the very hairs on your head (Luke 12:6–7), meaning He knows and cares about every detail of your life.

Psalm 130 models prayer from this perspective (vv. 1–2). Why did the psalmist feel so low? In this case, because he’d sinned and felt guilt (vv. 3–4). That’s why this psalm is one of seven “penitential psalms.” Based on our record, no one can stand righteous before the Lord. The only reason a relationship with Him is possible is that God has granted mercy and forgiveness. Only because of this can we serve and worship Him.

Centered in faith on this hope, the psalmist waits for the Lord (vv. 5–6). He knows God’s mercy and forgiveness will transform his feelings and the spiritual reality of his situation. He longs for this as eagerly as a watchman waits for morning to dawn, and he exhorts God’s people to do the same (vv. 7–8). God’s “unfailing love” is our only hope of redemption from sin!

>> One way to better realize the hope we have in Christ is by practicing confession. We encourage you today to bring your sins before God’s throne: confess, mourn, and repent of sin. Then, you can realize the joy and freedom of God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9).