1 Corinthians 13:13 — But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. (NASB)
I talked the other day about filling my faith tank. I know I was influenced by Dr. Gary Chapman, the writer of “The Five Love Languages” who talks about keeping the love tank full. Reflecting on that led me back to this verse in 1 Corinthians. So we ‘re taking care of the faith tank and the love tank — but what keeps the “hope tank” full?
I know it’s really important to keep hopeful … even when times are tough. (Interestingly, somebody said to me today “You’re amazingly hopeful … for an Englishman!”). Proverbs 13:12 puts it in a nutshell: “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” Fortunately, I have an ultimate undeniable reason to be hopeful. 

There are those who rely on the resources they have gathered as the basis of hope. They’re the ones spoken of in Psalm 20:5-8: “We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions. Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.” Did you get it? Some people have fancy cars and all sorts of other asstest, but that “stuff” can all vanish when times get tough. But God will meet the needs of those that trust in Him.

The Psalms are full of this kind of help. Here’s another great example: “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.” (Psalm 73:25-28). There’s another principle. Some people rely on the world’s morality and practices — they are far from God. They have no hope and no future. But “God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever”.  

I know what my future is. God is my portion forever and I know he has a plan for me. That gives me a vision, and a vision you can trust is the key to filling the hope tank. Whenever mine is empty I look at the vision, and the character of Him that underpins it … and my tank is instantly full again. It is not so for those who trust in anything else. Proverbs 29:18 provides this plank to my foundation: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

So how about you? What fills your hope tank?