Hope centric means putting Christ in the middle of everything. Put Him in the middle of your misery and out of a mystery he will bring the treasures of mercy. A desperate woman with an issue of blood allowed many others to stand at the center of her hopes: creditors depleting her funds; dumbfounded doctors experimenting with treatments that only exacerbated her suffering; friends who flippantly commented about her dire situation; family members who apparently didn’t stay around too long to be a helping hand. But she finally put Jesus at the center of her attention, got the miracle of her intention by touching the hem of his garment, and then she momentarily became the center of public attention as the virtue-drained Master openly lauded her faith.

Put Him in the middle of your mess and he will create a masterpiece. For he loves to take broken down things as material for his Kingdom. The writer of two thirds of the New Testament was a hunch backed unmarried Pharisee converted to Christianity by a light-exploding encounter with Jesus. The first preacher of the New Testament church aroused in an upper room by sudden winds and falling fire was a fisherman with no education. But Peter led thousands to cleansing waters of change. The first evangelist of the New Testament was not a man, but a woman who’d been married too many times and didn’t trust enough to marry the man she was with; but Jesus confronted her at a well and before the evening sun disappeared behind the mountains she led an entire city to the River of His grace.

Put him in the middle of your maze and you’ll eventually find a way out. Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls…” Adam Clarke, a theologian and scholar, observes this text and explains, “A traveler is going to a particular city; he comes to a place where the road divides into several paths, he is afraid of going astray; he stops short, - endeavors to find out the right path: he cannot fix his choice. At last he sees another traveler; he inquires of him, gets proper directions - proceeds on his journey - arrives at the desired place - and reposes after his fatigue.”