Hello All,

Last night during worship I received a word from the Lord about those who were dealing with a sense of hopelessness.  As I sat down to work on my email this morning that word was still very strong on my heart, so I want us to get God’s perspective on hope.  I will begin with the Biblical definition of hope…

Hope – a favorable and confident expectation; the happy anticipation of good. (Vines Expository Dictionary)

The Bible is replete with illustrations of the importance which hope plays in a victorious Christian life.  According to Hebrews 1, faith and hope are the “power twins” that bring God’s provisions into our present reality. 

Heb 11:1
¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  NKJV

Hope gives us a vision of the truth that God has promised in His word and faith takes hold of that vision and brings it into reality.  That is why the enemy fights to occupy your mind and distort your vision…he wants to hinder your faith.  When we see a promise in the Word, we must allow hope to arise in our hearts…

Rom 15:4
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. NKJV

As we see God’s faithfulness and power demonstrated throughout the Bible it is an invitation into hope…which partners with faith to produce the same results in our lives.  We can have “a favorable and confident expectation” because Jesus is the same“yesterday, today and forever” (Heb 13:8), and He does not respect one person over another (Rom 2:11).   Therefore, we can be filled with joy and peace because the God of hope has caused us to abound in hope…

Rom 15:13
13 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.  ESV 

From these passages it is clear to see that our hope is not based on our ability to “think positive” but on the reality that God has infused us with the power of hope through the Holy Spirit.  As we focus our attention on Him, and the love which He has poured into our hearts, we will not be disappointed…

Rom 5:5
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  NKJV