In Whom Do We Hope?

Earlier this year, the Lord called my mother home to Himself. In her final days, Mom slipped in and out of consciousness. Her shrinking world was a scary and confusing place as she became bedridden and blind and lost feeling in her hands. In the last lucid moment I experienced with her, she began singing “All the Way My Savior Leads Me,” a hymn written by the famous and blind songwriter Fanny Crosby. I listened to Mom sweetly sing the first verse:

All the way my Savior leads me
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

Mom knew she would see her Savior soon. Her faith was not a wishful thought but was anchored to the promises of the One who created the universe. The second verse of the hymn reads:

All the way my Savior leads me—
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for ev’ry trial,
Feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the rock before me,
Lo! a spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.

In light of her pain and circumstances, Mom’s thirsty heart was filled by the spring of joy provided by her Savior. 

One of the passages I read to her that same night was Psalm 33:18–20: 

Behold, the eye of the Lᴏʀᴅ is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lᴏʀᴅ; He is our help and our shield.

True peace only comes when our confidence is in the One more powerful than death.

That evening, as I left the healthcare facility, I kept thinking about the source of our joyful expectation in the face of death. I reflected on how true peace only comes when our confidence is in the One more powerful than death. Who is this One in whom we hope? The prophet Jeremiah’s words reveal the character of the One in whom we place our hope:

But the Lᴏʀᴅ [Yahweh] is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation (Jeremiah 10:10).

Yahweh is the only true God. In this same chapter, Jeremiah described the idols as false and worthless (v. 8). It is foolish to place our hope in something made by human hands. 

“He is the living God,” Jeremiah wrote, contrasting Yahweh with the idols. They could not speak, hear, or move, but He could. He is the one true God, and He is alive. Jeremiah twice declared, “There is none like [Yahweh]” (vv. 6–7).

Jeremiah provided another key characteristic that should give us great confidence in God’s promises. He has ultimate authority and is powerful enough to keep His promises. The gods invented by humans are laughably powerless compared to Yahweh. He is “the everlasting King” (v. 10).

In his prayer to the everlasting God, Moses wrote, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:2). Like Jeremiah, Job confidently expressed God’s Kingship: “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You” (Job 42:2).

Nothing on Earth can stand against the promises of God. He alone is the true and just King. We can trust Him, even when we feel fearful, because our hope is not wishful thinking. Our confidence is in our living, eternal Creator. 

Nothing on Earth can stand against the promises of God.

No matter what you are facing, remember that if you trust in Jesus to take the punishment for your sins, you serve a God whom you can trust completely. Our God is a loving, perfect, and always true Father. He is our eternal, living, just, and merciful King. 

I sat with Mom the moment she passed from this life. That experience makes the third verse of “All the Way My Savior Leads Me” especially meaningful to me: 

All the way my Savior leads me—
Oh, the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way.

What a wonderful thought that the eternal, sovereign King of the universe is good, and His Word is true. I invite you to place your life and confident hope in His promises.

Photo Credit: Adobe Stock

About the Author

Steve Conover

Steve is the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Media Ministries for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.