Faith, Hope, & LoveSample

What is Hope? 

As we defined on Day 1, hope is our desire to see something happen or become true. 

She gave up hope.
The team hoped they’d win the game.
We hope that rain won’t ruin the party.

It’s hard for us to survive without hope. Because of that, we often place our hope in objects, experiences, and people, which leads to disappointment for us when our expectations are unrealistic and therefore, mismanaged. What we should be doing is placing our hope in our God. Let’s take a look at what God’s Word holds for us when it comes to hope. 

The Apostle Paul wrote that hope doesn’t put us to shame because of God’s love that’s been poured out on us (Romans 5:5). He also writes that hope that we can see isn’t hope (Romans 8:24). And the best thing we can learn about hope is that our God authored it, and as we learn to trust in Him, He fills us with so much hope that we’re overflowing with it (Romans 15:13). 

Hope is an anticipation and expectation that God is working even if we can’t see it. It’s a spiritual optimism that actually leads to building our faith. We might say that faith and hope go hand in hand. While faith is the belief that God is who He says He is and that we should trust in Him, hope is the expectation that He’s there. So, when we have hope in God, it actually propels our faith. 

How do we live it out?
Living our lives with hope often comes down to knowing how to navigate our thoughts. We can become overwhelmed and even feel defeated in things that have little to no eternal impact. When plans fail and we’re disappointed, we can still have hope despite earthly disappointments. We choose to hold onto the hope that God has prepared a glorious place for us in heaven that’ll never end.  

What do I do when my hope is low?
When hope feels far off, it’s likely that we had situational hope. This kind of hope that we place on temporary things or even people often brings despair. So, take a minute to analyze where you’ve directed your hope. If you’ve placed your hope in anything in this world, redirect that hope toward God. Our hope is secure when we’re grounded in Jesus and are expectant about spending eternity with Him.