9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in (wait for) the Lord will inherit the land.
34 Hope in (wait for) the Lord
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it. Psalm 37
These two verses in Psalm 37 give us a Conditional Promise from the Lord concerning our Inheritance, namely we have to Hope/Wait for Him.
HOPE IS THE CONFIDENT EXPECTATION OF GOOD.
There are many references to Hope in the Psalms;
1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul,
in you I trust, O my God.
2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 NO ONE WHO HOPES IN YOU
WILL EVER BE PUT TO SHAME, (Hallelujah) Psalm 25
David was truly confident that God would come through for him, despite all the difficulties he faced.
13 I REMAIN CONFIDENT of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 WAIT FOR THE LORD;
BE STRONG AND TAKE HEART
AND WAIT FOR THE LORD. (Repeated Twice) Psalm 27
David spoke personally of his faith in his God, ‘I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living’. His enemies and his circumstances weren’t going to triumph over him, God was with him and He’s with us and in us now.
There are many references to Waiting/Hoping in the prophet Isaiah, but one that will always stand out for me;
23 Then you will know that I am the Lord;
THOSE WHO HOPE IN ME WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED (PUT TO SHAME). Isaiah 49
I was approaching marriage to my first wife, now in Glory, and I was trying to book a hotel in the English Lake District for our honeymoon. I had written to a good hotel with my budget for one of their superior rooms. It was only a couple of weeks to the wedding and I’d heard nothing. I awoke on a Saturday morning and had a flood of thoughts in my mind, ‘you’ve nothing booked for your honeymoon and it’s going to be a disaster’. Then, almost immediately, I heard the above scripture, for which I had to look up the reference. I felt certain God had things in hand and the following week the hotel contacted me with a keen price for the room I wanted. PS they also left a front door key outside, for two perfect strangers, as we were arriving on a late ferry from N.Ireland after the wedding. GOD IS SO GOOD!
There may be some today, including ourselves, who need to hear afresh, THAT THOSE WHO TRUST IN THE LORD WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED – WE SERVE A FAITHFUL, LOVING FATHER.
May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.