Hopeful Ribs

The kind of hope that God offers is not cotton candy hope. Not on your life. It’s not full of empty promises. It’s stronger than the roof over your head that you trust to protect you from the rain, wind, and hail.

And this is no empty hope, for God himself is the one who has prepared us for this wonderful destiny. And to confirm this promise, He has given us the Holy Spirit, like an engagement ring, as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 5:5 TPT

As you can see, God’s kind of hope is more certain than the hope that the sun will rise tomorrow. It’s not an empty, cotton candy kind of hope, but a solid hope that we can bet our lives and everyone that we hold dear. A hope that never disappoints. But how do we find and grow this kind of hope?

Hope Illustrated

I’ll tell you where you find it. It’s in a rack of lip-smacking barbeque ribs. The very name “ribs” says a lot. You don’t order a rib, you order ribs. Whether it’s at the meat market, grocery store, restaurant, or roadside stand. It’s always ribs. No one in their right mind orders a single, solitary rib. It’s always plural.

Ribs come into this world as a community. They are always ribs. They are always in a group. Not only are they together in the animal, but they are also cooked together and come to the table together. You don’t think about a single rib. You always think of them as a group—as a slab of ribs - a mess of ribs. Ribs are:

• Side by side with one another.
• Support one another.
• Stand together with one another.

Ribs are there for one another. They’ve never known anything else. From their earliest days in their mother’s womb, it’s been this way. Their entire existence, their entire life, has been as a community. As a group. As a whole.

Hope is like that too. To have hope, you need to have other people standing side-by-side with you. You need more than just a someone, you need a team supporting you. You need hopeful people on both sides. Encouraging you.

But it’s not a one-way relationship. To receive hope, you must also give hope. You need to be with other people, side by side with them. You need to support each other in hope. You need to stand together with people.

So who are the people in your life, your community that are willing to stand with you, side-by-side, enjoying life’s pleasures and enduring life’s pain alongside you?

Starting today, be like ribs with the people around you. Lining up with them, giving help, support, and hope. And before you know it, you’ll be on the receiving side of hope too.

To refull your hope tank, go to www.hopeisthekey.org