Hope is important. The dictionary defines hopes as the desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment.
Hope is not “I hope my team wins the Super Bowl” or “I hope I get a raise.” Biblical hope is not a hope-so but it is a know-so. It isn’t wishing for the best. It isn’t waiting to see what happens and hope that it turns out well. Hope is not a feeling or an emotion. Hope is the knowledge of facts. If someone says to you that “I hope you have a good day,” there is no guarantee that the day will go well. To have a biblical hope is to have a sure anchor of the soul, not hoping for rain because the forecast says that there is a 60% chance of rain and you hope that you get your garden watered. That is not hope…that is wishful thinking and it is utterly undependable and has no power to bring anything to pass.
We have this assured hope because Jesus gives it to us.
Hoping in God does not come naturally for sinners like us. We must preach it to ourselves, and preach diligently and forcefully, or we will give way to a downcast and disquieted spirit.
Hope is the desire for something good in the future because God would never leave us.
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