What do you hope for? Do you hope for a new car? Do you hope for a new house? Do you hope for a new relationship? Do you hope for better health? Are you really hoping or just wishing? Do you know what real hope is? Do you know what Biblical hope is?
We hope for a lot of things. Far too often, nearly always, those hopes are merely wishes. We have a wish list full of material things. Our wish list may include relationships. It may also include job promotions. But make no mistake about it, they are wishes rather than hopes.
Biblical hope is not a wish list. In fact, wishing has no part of the Biblical hope we are called to. Hope is a confidence in the promises of God. It is trusting in his mighty power and knowing he will fulfill his promises. Our hope is not foolish, nor does it falsely assume. Our hope is not in material things but in the promise of eternal life.
As the Apostle Paul writes, hoping for what we see is not hope. It is either wishful thinking or we develop a plan to acquire it with earthly wealth. Hoping for what we cannot see requires us to put our faith in God. It requires us to trust him. It also means we must wait with patience. The eternal life we hope for will only come when this life is over.
Real hope, Biblical hope, is far more powerful than any wish. We know with certainty we will receive what we hope for. Yes, we have a physical life to live. But we no longer need to think this life is all there is nor that this life is as important as the rest of the world makes it out to be.
I pray we all put our hope in God’s promises. I pray we make our wish list a lower priority to pursue. I pray we have Biblical hope in what we cannot see, which is eternal life spent with God. Put your hope in God. Trust in his promises. Hope for eternal life. Have Biblical hope.
Romans 8:24-25 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Marty Pressey 