Got hope?

Abundant Life Episode 32
In this episode Saso and Ben discuss the topic of hope. What do you place your hope in?

Websters 1828

Hope

“A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. hopediffers from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. hopetherefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety.

Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God’s gracious promises; a scriptural sense.

A well founded scriptural hope is, in our religion, the source of ineffable happiness.”

Key Verse
Joel 3:16
We live in a world that gives us anything but hope. We have been guilty of putting our hope in our favorite sports team, our favorite stock, our back accounts, our residency in America and our religious freedoms. We have seen things bubbling in our world whether that be racial divide, countries at war, and even our country divided behind political lines. The news is not full of hope nor is it full of truth. One does not watch the news and walk away with an outlook of hope. As Christians, our hope is in the Lord, and He is still our strength no matter the headline or news breaking story
John 16:33
We were told of the world not being a peaceful place and it has not been a peaceful place for a long time. We sometimes forget that they crucified our Lord, and the world is not a place we can take refuge in or find peace in. That is the bad news, but the good news is that our God has overcome this world, and there is ultimate peace found in Him. Chin up! 
Complacency is a really dangerous place to be, because its like being in a false state of satisfaction. But that’s exactly where we were just a few years after 911. We went through the horrific tragedy and then we just got emerged in life, business, daily routines and such. Then we had somewhat of an awakening in 2008 with the housing market crash and high inflation, but then we were back to our old ways. We were living pretty comfortable from 2010 till March of 2020 when the world was overtaken by Covid.
As churches shut down, business sent employees home, students were sent home and we were sort of left in this state of the unknown. Grocery stores were low on stock, there was no toilet paper, having to social distance and wear uncomfortable masks, it was a sort of a stressful time of uncertainty.
But something interesting happened that hadn’t happened in quite some time. We begin to look up. God was allowing this pandemic trial to happen and we were confronted face to face with our faith. Where was our faith? Was it in the CDC, was it in Dr. Fauci, was in the hope for a coming vaccine or was it in the one who spoke the world into existence?
Fast forward a little to our current day, and we are currently in another point in history where we are entering the unknown. Russia has just invaded the people of Ukraine and news analysts are trying to determine what’s coming next. The people in Ukraine are under attack, and the rest of the world is watching and waiting for the next tyrant to attack. And again we are face to face with our faith.
1 Peter 1:6-7
God Cares for you
Isaiah 41:10
There are going to be times in the present world where we will feel alone, where we will feel defeated, and we will feel without strength. Our strength is not found in anything but the Lord our God. He is the One who upholds us, and He is the One who says, “Fear not!” It does not take much watching of the news to feel fearful of what is going on, and to lose sight that our God is still on the throne 
Isaiah 41:13
We are told again here not to fear as the Lord our God is the One who holds our hand, and He is the One who will help and sustain us. We often get fearful by what we see and hear but …