October 1st, 2024
This week, I have one word on my heart: hope.
Whether they realize it or not, everyone is seeking real hope. In a world filled with uncertainty, the church of Jesus Christ must have hope!
Biblical hope is not a desire or a wish. In the English language we use the hope to express what we want to happen. We say things like, “I hope I get to take a vacation” or “I hope they win this game.”
That is not Biblical hope and if that’s our understanding of it when we read the Word of God, we will miss something crucial.
The word for hope in the New Testament can also be translated from its original language to “expectation, trust, or confidence.” It means properly, “the expectation of that which is certain.”
Romans 5:3-5 says,
“…hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Hope, or the expectation of God’s goodness, will not put us to shame because He is always faithful!
In Romans 4, Paul gives a powerful teaching regarding the faith and hope of Abraham. He reminded the believers that every promise of God rests on faith. However, faith rests on hope. Romans 4:18-21 says,
“In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”
Abraham hoped against hope. Think about that truth with the Biblical understanding of the word! Abraham did not just want a son. When faith came alive and his heart vibrantly believed God’s word, he expected a son. He knew God’s promise would be fulfilled, despite what his natural expectations should have been. He hoped against hope. Your circumstances will often lead you to a different expectation than the Word of God. A doctor’s diagnosis may lead you to have a feasible, legitimate, and understandable reason to expect something bad to happen. Abraham should not have expected to have a son. However, he chose to place his expectation on the Word of God. He chose to place his hope on the promise God had given him and then, and only then, could his faith operate.
Hebrews 11:1 says,
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Faith is the evidence you’ll receive what you hope for, but if you don’t have hope, you have nothing for which to believe God. You must have your expectation set on the promises of God so you can allow your faith to become active! We must choose to expect the promises of the Word of God, especially if they contradict our natural circumstances.
Romans 8:24-25 says,
“Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Hope is expectation. We wait expectantly only for what we know we will have! We must see and believe that God will do what He says, even before we walk in the fulfillment of it. We must rejoice in what He said He’ll do before He does it! His word is more certain than your circumstance!
Anxiety is defined as the sense of fear, dread, or uneasiness and it’s the opposite of hope. It’s the expectation of something bad while hope is the expectation of something good. It’s impossible for your faith to operate correctly in your life when you have a fearful expectation of what’s to come.
The answer to anxiety is to set your heart on the promises of God’s Word. Isaiah 26:3 says,
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Keep the promises of God always before you. Read them, listen to them, say them over and over, until you expect God to do what He promised! Then you can begin to exercise your faith, because your hope has lined up with the truth of God’s word.
What are you hoping for? Again, I’m not asking what you want or desire. I’m asking what you’re expecting. Does it line up with God’s word? Is it a promise He’s given you? Is it the truth that you will see His glory and goodness demonstrated in your situation? Do you pray with the firm hope that God will do what He’s promised? Ask Him to show you His dreams and expectations for the situations that have left you feeling discouraged. His plans are for good and not for evil (Jeremiah 29:11). Jesus came to give life abundantly (John 10:10). In our lives, our families, our churches, and our nation, let us expect God to move! Let us expect a glorious harvest of souls and a demonstration of the kingdom of God like we have never seen before. God is on the move and our hope, our expectation, is not in what the news says, what the doctors say, or what anyone says, if it contradicts the word of God. Our hope is in the God of hope, and He has never failed! This week, we pray over you as Paul prayed over the Roman church:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)
Whether they realize it or not, everyone is seeking real hope. In a world filled with uncertainty, the church of Jesus Christ must have hope!
Biblical hope is not a desire or a wish. In the English language we use the hope to express what we want to happen. We say things like, “I hope I get to take a vacation” or “I hope they win this game.”
That is not Biblical hope and if that’s our understanding of it when we read the Word of God, we will miss something crucial.
The word for hope in the New Testament can also be translated from its original language to “expectation, trust, or confidence.” It means properly, “the expectation of that which is certain.”
Romans 5:3-5 says,
“…hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Hope, or the expectation of God’s goodness, will not put us to shame because He is always faithful!
In Romans 4, Paul gives a powerful teaching regarding the faith and hope of Abraham. He reminded the believers that every promise of God rests on faith. However, faith rests on hope. Romans 4:18-21 says,
“In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”
Abraham hoped against hope. Think about that truth with the Biblical understanding of the word! Abraham did not just want a son. When faith came alive and his heart vibrantly believed God’s word, he expected a son. He knew God’s promise would be fulfilled, despite what his natural expectations should have been. He hoped against hope. Your circumstances will often lead you to a different expectation than the Word of God. A doctor’s diagnosis may lead you to have a feasible, legitimate, and understandable reason to expect something bad to happen. Abraham should not have expected to have a son. However, he chose to place his expectation on the Word of God. He chose to place his hope on the promise God had given him and then, and only then, could his faith operate.
Hebrews 11:1 says,
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Faith is the evidence you’ll receive what you hope for, but if you don’t have hope, you have nothing for which to believe God. You must have your expectation set on the promises of God so you can allow your faith to become active! We must choose to expect the promises of the Word of God, especially if they contradict our natural circumstances.
Romans 8:24-25 says,
“Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Hope is expectation. We wait expectantly only for what we know we will have! We must see and believe that God will do what He says, even before we walk in the fulfillment of it. We must rejoice in what He said He’ll do before He does it! His word is more certain than your circumstance!
Anxiety is defined as the sense of fear, dread, or uneasiness and it’s the opposite of hope. It’s the expectation of something bad while hope is the expectation of something good. It’s impossible for your faith to operate correctly in your life when you have a fearful expectation of what’s to come.
The answer to anxiety is to set your heart on the promises of God’s Word. Isaiah 26:3 says,
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Keep the promises of God always before you. Read them, listen to them, say them over and over, until you expect God to do what He promised! Then you can begin to exercise your faith, because your hope has lined up with the truth of God’s word.
What are you hoping for? Again, I’m not asking what you want or desire. I’m asking what you’re expecting. Does it line up with God’s word? Is it a promise He’s given you? Is it the truth that you will see His glory and goodness demonstrated in your situation? Do you pray with the firm hope that God will do what He’s promised? Ask Him to show you His dreams and expectations for the situations that have left you feeling discouraged. His plans are for good and not for evil (Jeremiah 29:11). Jesus came to give life abundantly (John 10:10). In our lives, our families, our churches, and our nation, let us expect God to move! Let us expect a glorious harvest of souls and a demonstration of the kingdom of God like we have never seen before. God is on the move and our hope, our expectation, is not in what the news says, what the doctors say, or what anyone says, if it contradicts the word of God. Our hope is in the God of hope, and He has never failed! This week, we pray over you as Paul prayed over the Roman church:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)
No Comments