I have chosen this title for something I hold most precious and dear to myself. I cannot ever think or imagine living my life without God and hope in a godless, immoral, corrupt, untrustworthy, and materialistic world. Materialistic means to be excessively concerned with material possessions and money-oriented. Far too much emphasis is put on things that are seen, can be touched and handled rather than the spiritual realities of God. The Bible refers to these people as “Having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).
Having been raised by godly parents in a Christian home, I realized from an early age that life without God is completely different compared to life with God. “Without God, life has no purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.” (Pastor Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life).
Life is devoid of purpose and direction without God. King Solomon, the son of King David, wrote: “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities. All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Note: All is vanity, meaning: the things that originate from the human heart are futile, empty, pointless and serve no spiritual purpose.
People who choose to disbelieve or doubt the existence of God, does not change in any way the fact that God does exist. First and foremost, God is the Supreme Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe and all things in it — whether visible or invisible.
The first verse of the entire Bible says: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The Bible tells us all we need to know about the existence of God, and what He does.
God hasn’t got to prove His existence. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Also, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19,20).
God exists in three Persons, namely: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Bible explains: “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Some people are called “Atheist” and “Agnostic.” An atheist is a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence or nature of God. An Agnostic is one who believes nothing is known or can be known about the existence and nature of God.
Not only does some live a life without God, but also without hope. What is hope? Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Note the feeling of expectation and desire. No one can see hope. The Bible says, “Hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patients” (Romans 8:24,25).
Hope is the anchor of the believer’s soul. The Bible says, “We have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf” (Hebrews 6:18-20). The Christian’s hope is beyond this present world and is actually with Christ in heaven today.
I give God ceaseless praise, adoration, and thanks for the Christian life that is second to none. My allegiance is to God and my expectation is from Him each day, because I am saved and kept by His grace and mercy.
I’m like the man of whom the Bible declares: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7,8).
I have discovered that without God, life has no spiritual value, no purpose and hardly makes sense. Paul declared: “With full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:20,21).
I fully identify with Paul’s statement and personally take it as my very own, coming from my innermost being. The life I am now living is absolutely by faith in Christ Jesus, my Lord, who loved me to the point of His death on the Cross for me. I am saved, sanctified and kept by God’s grace and mercy. Therefore, my expectation will always be from Him. Amen.