Let us examine today what the Bible teaches about hope. It is an important topic in these difficult times we live. What do we hope for? And how do we find hope in the never ending lockdown?
Hope is a powerful force that allowed human race to go through the most challenging periods of history such as wars, pestilences, famines etc. It is very difficult to imagine or experience life that is desolated from any hope. People who do not have it suffer and are depressed.
The dictionary definition of hope is this: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. The Oxford dictionary also provides a more archaic definition for hope: A feeling of trust.
Apostle Paul writes: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Cor. 13:13.
Indeed, there is a very close connection between faith, hope and love. Faith enables us. Hope sets the direction. Love is the way. This can be applied to all sorts of hope. What you believe (faith) will determine your expectations (hope) and will push you towards specific actions (love). Hope is like a GPS system which you set upon a destination and which will guide you towards it.
Good Hope and Vain Hope
The Bible teaches there are two kinds of hope: One is the good, saving hope which is based on God’s calling, on our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The other hope is vain and can lead to destruction.
“Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.” 2 Thes. 2:16
In this verse we see the hope that comes from our Father in heaven. It is received as grace. It is unmerited. It is the reason for Christians to rejoice for we see our destiny which is eternal life and the glory of Christ. This is the ‘good hope’.
But since there is ‘good hope’, it seems logical that there must also exist a contrary thing, a hope that is bad. This division is clearly presented in the following verse:
“Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.” Jer. 3:23
Here we have two very different hopes contrasted. The vain, bad hope that is based upon our confidence in human race and worldly things. On the other end, we have the hope which source and object is the Lord our God. It is based upon the belief that the Lord is our salvation.
This good hope is a blessing, as prophet Jeremiah wrote later: “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” Jer. 17:7
The vain hope is human-based and men-centred. It will perish for it is not rooted in faith in God and in His divine love. “So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.” Job 8:13
What is Hope?
We saw the dictionary definition of hope, but can we find one in the Bible? Let us look at the book of Hebrews:
“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;” Hbr. 6:18-19
The good, godly hope is based on the promises of God (the two immutable things above). It is established and built upon the Word of God.
It is an anchor of the soul. It means that what you hope for defines the direction for your soul. Having an understanding of this is essential for it allows us to examine whether we are on the right course in our pilgrimage here on earth.
Many people go through crises by hoping things will get back to normal, that there will be better times. But we know that this world is doomed and destined for destruction. Why would you waste your energy by putting your hope in it?
Instead, we should remember this higher calling of God. We expect to be in the glorious presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is our hope. The Lord needs to be the primary source of it. This good hope in the Lord will let us go through whatever happens in life, for we can be clear about the direction and have confidence in God and His promises.
Hope is that what we wait for. As Christians, we long to be free from the presence of sin, and we “through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” Gal. 5:5
Everything in us needs to be subjected to this hope, even our flesh (Ps. 16:9). The hope that we will live in flesh is against the hope that we can be justified by the law. The law condemns us for we are all sinners. Yet, we have the promise of God that He would save. This promise was present with the human race since the garden of Eden.
The Holy and righteous God will justify me, the sinner? It is a hope against hope (Rom. 4:18). But what is impossible for men, is possible for God. Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins and was resurrected on the third day. This gives us the confidence that God will also save us who trust in Him. We expect and hope for our resurrection in glorified bodies. This is the promise given to us through the Word of God!
Hope in the Lord is the mark of us being born again (1 P. 1:3). It is a sign of life in us. This good, lively hope is what saves us, because it stands on God’s promise:
“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” Rom 8:24-25
Hope is the expression of our destination. For Christians, it will be placed upon the glory of Christ, which we cannot see yet. “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col. 1:27
Lord Jesus promised eternal life to all them who believe in Him. Therefore our hope is also the hope of eternal life: “That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Tit. 3:7
Through the eyes of faith, we see the invisible things that we are expecting: the glory of Christ, the eternal life, God’s righteousness revealed through Lord Jesus. It makes us “Rejoicing in hope” Rom. 12:12.
Make sure that in all this pandemic, you have the object of your hope placed rightly. When you have the object of hope correctly positioned, you will be free from all anxieties in this world. Christians have nothing to loose here on earth. Our inheritance is in heaven, so why vex about the virus? If your soul is vexed, you need to review your GPS settings.
Make the Lord your destiny. Repent and turn to Him. Hope in Him and Wait for Him.
“And now, Lord,
what wait I for?
my hope is in thee.”
Ps. 39:7
