We throw the word "hope" around as if it is an impossible dream. We say I hope it works as if hope is an unreliable engine that propels what we want to happen. Or I hope it happens as if hope is so unpredictable that we always feel like we’re playing roulette.
However, hope in the Bible is the underpinning for all of life. We don’t have to see a good thing happen to have hope that God is working to bring something good into a complicated or confusing time. Hope, as God gives it to us, is solid, anchored, and never fails.
So why do we, as Christians, think and act in these complex, chaotic, and often hopeless times as if we have no hope for the future? Why do we concentrate on what steals our hope rather than centering on the hope we already have? And most important of all, how can we turn this around?
The apostles, especially Paul, wrote letters of hope and encouragement to scattered Christians. Their letters reminded all that God was on the move, sovereign, and in charge. Nothing that any human leader did could thwart or confuse God’s plan.
Isn’t that the reminder we need? No matter how grim, unpredictable, or hopeless our circumstances may be, God weaves a pattern of hope into them. But how do we learn to take a confident attitude when little around us makes it easy to hope? Consider five scriptural strategies below. They can keep us living in hope, no matter how unwanted or uncomfortable the situation may be.
1. Hope anchors in who God is and what He has done.
On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us. 2 Corinthians 1:10
The biggest deterrent to hope is focusing on what is happening rather than on God and His ability to work His plan despite what we see. Sometimes, that means focusing on small answers in difficult times. Sometimes, it means letting God’s plan take time, even when it feels like God is slow. We focus on and trust in God instead of on what we think will make something better.
2. The building blocks of hope are perseverance and endurance.
We continually remember . . . your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3
People who have hope persevere. They don't give up. Perseverance births endurance. Hope is present because of what God is doing behind the scenes. He invites us to keep looking so that we will recognize His work. We endure and persevere because giving up prevents us from seeing God at work
3. Hope asks how, not why.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18
We live hopeful because God raised Jesus in the middle of the most hopeless event in the world. God brought life out of death. He keeps reminding us that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is ours. Our hope isn’t a prescriptive hope about what we want Him to do. Our hope is a receptive hope. We receive the power to live in hope.
4. Hope in God’s sovereignty overpowers what we don't understand.
But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25
We don’t wait to see good things happen to be hopeful. Our hope isn’t about good things; our hope is about our Good God, who does all things right. This changes our outlook, but not because the circumstances change. We grow patience in response to believing God is in charge and no one can unseat Him.
5. Hope in God brings peace.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. Romans 15:13
If there is anything our unsettled culture needs, it is peace. Peace is the gift of placing our hope entirely in what God is doing. However, we won’t experience that peace if we apply it to circumstances first. Instead, we ask God’s peace to rule in our hearts because we trust His work even when we don’t understand it. When we want more peace, we grow more trust.
We are the light the world needs. Unfortunately, our light is rather dim these days. We need to bathe ourselves in unswerving hope in God and radiate that hope in our conversations. This is no time to hang our heads. Our God is on the move, and we are front-row witnesses.
How will you rekindle hope in God today?
Comments