When Jesus came on the scene, the people were under the rule of the Roman Empire. The people of Israel had endured the oppression for so long that they had in mind a totaly different Messiah than what was given them.

Due to the extreme oppression, the people expected a king to overthrow Rome. Instead Jesus came as the sacrificial lamb. And as promised, He changed the world. Just not in the way the people anticipated.

“ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

It can be easy for people to become so overwhelmed by the difficulties of life that they want an immediate solution, developing their own opinions of how that should work, forgetting sometimes that God always has a plan, and it is always for our best. Even when the solutions are not immediate, when things continue to be a struggle, there is hope that the plan is perfect, even if we don’t see or understand it.

Hope for a future. Hope the Israelites had that the promised Messiah would come. And, all these years later, the promise and the hope that we have in knowing He will return again for the final victory.

Hope. A gift, like all gifts that has to be accepted to truly be ours.