Hope (Romans 8:24; 15:13; 1 John 3:2-3; Hebrews 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:13; Galatians 4:6; 1 Peter 3:15; Jeremiah 29:11)

ANCHORING STABILITY

The familiar saying is that a person can survive for 40 days without food; 3 days without water; and about 30 seconds without hope. Hope is the sustaining ingredient in life, that no matter how bad circumstances or situations look, we have confidence in a brighter future. There are a myriad of expressions that convey this idea: 'things will get better'; 'every cloud has a silver lining'; 'there is light at the end of the tunnel'; 'it is always darkest before the dawn', and other statements which are all phrases that attempt to comfort and encourage us to hold on to a positive expectation.

For the Believer, hope is not a whimsical, fleeting attempt to downplay tragedy, but rather, the anchoring stability of Christian faith.

ROMANS 8:24

HOPE IS UNSEEN, because, "...hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for it".

HOPE IS FUTURE ORIENTATION. It is the anticipation of a future reality. "...hope always means waiting for something that we do not yet possess..." (Phillips).

SHAPES BEHAVIOR

Christian hope transcends this world, and the natural realm, into the spiritual realization of eternal realities, that shapes our behavior now. "Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is, and every one that has this hope in them, purifies themselves, even as He is pure" (1 Jn. 3:2-3).

TOALLY SECURE

Hope is knowing that there is more beyond this earthly life and we are totally secure in that fact, because we have "...this hope we hold as the utterly reliable anchor for our souls, fixed in the innermost shrine of Heaven, where Jesus has already entered on our behalf..." (Heb.6:19-20).

SHAPES OUR PRESENT

Ours is a future reality that shapes our present with positive confidence. Those that are without God do not share this treasure. The story is told of Rabbi Jochanan Ben Zakkai, who was a contemporary with the apostles, living at the same time, and was described by his disciples, as the "lamp of Israel" and the "strong hammer". Yet, when he was dying, he "wept when his pupils came to his death-bed to receive a final blessing from their dying master. When asked why he wept, he answered: 'There are two ways before me, the one to the Garden of Eden, the other to Gehinnom, and I do not know on which they lead me...how can I help weeping?' " (TDNT, Vol. 2, p.527). Here was a man considered to be at the highest achievable position in his religion, and yet he had no hope of a promising future at death.

WITHOUT GOD

Without God, there is no hope. Many live lives of quiet desperation, "...having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph.2:12), who are filled with continual sorrow, "...who have no hope" (1 Thes.4:13).

HOPE IS INTERNALIZED. "God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal.4:6). We have God on the inside of us. We are God inside minded, and we are to be "...ready always to give an answer to every person that asks you a reason of the hope that is IN you..." (1 Pet.3:15).

GOD OF HOPE

We have hope because we have God, and He is the God of hope that lives on the inside of us, and gives us hope. "I have not lost sight of my plan for you, the Lord says, and it is your welfare I have in mind, not your undoing; for you, too, I have a destiny and a hope" ( Knox) "...plans for peace, not disaster, reserving a future full of hope for you" (Jerusalem Bible) [Jer.29:11].

ROMANS 15:13

"Now the God of hope [shall] fill you with all joy and peace in believing, [so] that you [shall] abound [overflow; bubble over] in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit".

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours