A Quick Look

• Hope Is More Than Wishing
• What Is Hope?
• The Source of Hope
• Hope in the Old Testament
• Hope in the New Testament
• Hope for Now – Hope for Today

• Bonus Resource: The Story of Hope Stout 

Hope

• Do you have “it”?
• Do you want “it”?
• Will you share “it”?

Hope Is More Than Wishing

Hope in the world is used to express uncertainty.

• “I hope I can get that promotion.”
• “I hope I made an A in that class.”
• “I hope the pastor doesn’t drone on and on today.”

Hope in the Bible is used to expect something good in the future, and be confident in knowing that it will occur.

Biblical hope is not a mere desire for something good to happen. It is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. Biblical hope has moral certainty in it. When the word says, “Hope in God!” it does not mean, “Cross your fingers.” It means, to use the words of William Carey, “Expect great things from God.”

John Piper

What Is Hope?

Hope is the human spirit yearning for “more.”

• More than despair.
• More than unrelenting hardship.
• More than suffering.

⁵ “Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths,

And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;

Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.                                                

Psalm 39:5 NASB

• More than okay.
• More than just making it.
• More than “fine.”

²⁴ For, “ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, ²⁵ BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.” And this is the word which was preached to you.                                                                    

1 Peter 1:24-25 NASB

• More than wealth.
• More than  privilege.
• More than power.

¹⁴ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.            

James 4:14 NASB

More to life.

• More to life than simple existence.
• More to life than a mere moment out of an infinite time.
• More to life than a life without purpose, without meaning, without a reason for living.

³ O LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him? ⁴ Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.   

Psalm 144:3-4  NASB

The Source of Hope

As humans, we wish for “more.”

As humans, we desire “more.”

As humans, we are made to want “more.“

⁶ By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. ⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. ⁸ Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. ⁹ For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.               

Psalm 33:6-9 NASB

He   created us  for “more.”

⁷ Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.                                                             Genesis 2:7 NASB

 

He made us in His image.

²⁷ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.                                                              Genesis 2:27 NASB

 

He made us with the yearning for “more.”

Even though we don’t have a clue…

• What it is we want.
• What it is that we desire.
• What it is that we hope for. 

But we, like the author of Ecclesiastes, learn that there is nothing on earth that can fulfill this hope, this emptiness.

²“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”                                

Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV

Yet…

God gives us hope.

As He gives each one a “measure of faith,” so too, He is the source of our Hope.

Hope in the Old Testament

Hope comes from YeHoVaH:

⁵ My soul, wait in silence for God only,

For my hope⁸⁶¹⁵ is from Him.

Psalm 62:5 NASB

 Hebrew, the word use here for hope relates hope with the concept of a physical attachment between the one who hopes and that which is hoped for.

tiqvah⁸⁶¹⁵ N. cord;  from qavah⁶⁹⁶⁰; literally, a cord (as an attachment (compare qaveh⁶⁹⁶¹)); figuratively, expectancy — expectation ((-ted)), hope, live, thing that I long for.

His Word is a source of hope.

⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait,

And in His word do I hope⁸⁴³¹.

Psalm 130:5 NASB

Another Hebrew word for hope expands our understanding of the Hebrew concept of hope by its root in the word for “wait.”

tocheleth⁸⁴³¹  N. a hope, expectation; from yachal³¹⁷⁶ V. to wait, await. 1 wait, tarry for; 2 hope for; 3 to make hope

We need to preach this hope to ourself.

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.

John Piper

One thing I enjoy about the Psalms is the range of emotion they express, especially negative emotions. I am encouraged that I can rant and rave at God for disappointment and hurt in my circumstances.

But, what brings me peace is that most of the Psalms end with a return of focus on YeHoVaH.

⁵ Why are you in despair, O my soul?

And why have you become disturbed within me?

Hope³¹⁷⁶ in God, for I shall again praise Him

For the help of His presence.            

Psalm 42:5 NASB

In this instance, the Hebrew word for “wait” has been translated as hope.

yachal³¹⁷⁶ V. to wait, await. 1 wait, tarry for; 2 hope for; 3 to make hope

Hope in the New Testament

Again, His Word is a source of hope.

⁴ For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope¹⁶⁸⁰.                                                                                         Romans 15:4 NASB

In Greek, the word for hope, elpís, has a sense of much more certainty than the usage of the English word, hope.  

elpís ¹⁶⁸⁰  V. (from elpō, “to anticipate, welcome”) – properly, expectation of what is sure (certain); hope.

We hope for things yet unseen.

Faith, like Hope, is focused on what is unseen. What is visible is neither faith nor hope.

¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped¹⁶⁷⁹ for, the conviction of things not seen.                                                    

Hebrews 11:1 NASB

This Greek word for hope is a cognate of elpís.

elpízō¹⁶⁷⁹(from elpís¹⁶⁸⁰, “hope”) – to hope, actively waiting for God’s fulfillment about the faith He has inbirthed through the power of His love (cf. Gal 5:6 with Heb 11:1).  

Hope for Now – Hope for Today

So what can we do to take hold, and keep hold, of hope?

We can nourish our hope.

Keep our hopes up

• Affirm what you know: Truth
• Affirm how you know: Evidence
• Affirm why you know: God

Tell our story of hope

• Hope in the good times: Fulfilled Hope
• Hope in the bad times: Sustaining Hope
• Share the story of your hope

¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, ¹⁵ but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;                                                       1 Peter 3:14-15 NASB

Nourish the hopes of others

• Encourage One Another

¹³ But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.                                                            Hebrews 3:13 NASB

 

• Build Up One Another.

¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.                                                  1 Thessalonians 5:11 NASB

 

• Love One Another.

¹² “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.                                                                  John 15:12 NASB

My Hope for You

May you be hope-filled, hope-full, and despair-less.

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.                                                                   Romans 15:13 NASB

Bonus Resource:

The Story of Hope Stout

For more inspiration, read about Hope Stout, who made hopes (wishes) into assured hope (reality).

March Forth With Hope

TLThomas ©2020