We need answers during hard times. And even more than that, we desperately need solutions. We need a firm foundation upon which to stand when the waves of doubt, fear, and uncertainty attempt to sweep over us. What we need is “hope.”

Biblical “hope” is not about “hoping” for a “win” for your favorite sports team; it’s not about “hoping” that everything will turn out well in the meeting you might have later in the day; and it’s not even saying to someone, “I hope you have a good day.” We may “hope” for each of these things, and it’s perfectly OK to do so, but that is not what biblical “hope” is about. Let’s take a look at with the Bible says about “hope.”

Biblical hope is about assurance and expectation. For the follower of Jesus, hope has to do with the confident assurance of the goodness of God, and in the expectation that He will do what is “good,” and even necessary, on our behalf. The Bible speaks of things that we can “know,” and “knowing” involves certainty. Paul wrote to the Church in Rome about one thing that they can be certain of, 

“We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

That’s what is meant by assurance and confident expectation. That’s what is meant by “hope.” We can “go to the bank” with that promise. And remember, God’s bank of promises is always solvent, that is, the funds in His bank of promises are always available to us.

In Paul’s first letter to the Christians in Corinth, he talks about the three great Christian virtues, namely, “faith, hope, and love” (I Cor. 13:13). Even though Paul concludes that “love” is the greatest of these virtues, we are sometimes inclined to set aside the other two important virtues, namely, “faith” and “hope.” These two are intimately tied together as we will see in a moment. But first, just what is this “hope” of which Paul speaks?

Biblical “hope” extends far beyond those things that we might hope for during the course of our lives. Instead of wishing or hoping for something to happen, a believer rests in the fact that his/her hope is based upon the promises of God found in the Scriptures. As mentioned above, Christian “hope” is intimately tied to “faith.” In providing a definition of faith to his readers (and to us), the writer of the Book of Hebrews says,

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

Did you notice the word “hope” imbedded in the definition of “faith?” It is apparent that “faith” emerges from those “unseen” things that we “hope” for. In other words, faith begins with certain things that we “hope” for, but they are things that we cannot see. Real “hope” is unseen because it looks to the future for its fulfillment. The Apostle Paul adds,   

“Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Rom. 8:24-25).

We “hope” for a myriad of things in the physical realm, on both the individual, national, and global levels. Let’s face it, we are all hoping for an end to the pandemic, to social unrest, and to racial discrimination. We hope for peace in all our relationships from personal to international. And we all hope for good health, meaningful work, and to make a positive difference in the world.  Jesus was well aware of the pressures and disappointments that we all face, and wanted us to be assured that we are not alone. In fact, what we all face is actually to be expected. Jesus said,   

“In the world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).

In spite of the troubles we all face, Jesus has “overcome the world” for us. He is saying that the apparent victory of Satan in putting Jesus to death on the cross would actually turn out to be Jesus’ ultimate victory over the power of sin and Satan when He is raised from the dead. Furthermore, following His resurrection, He would ascend to heaven and be seated at the right hand of the Father in the place of honor, power, and authority. And because of that, there is nothing that can come upon us that is not first filtered through His fingers of love. That’s why the Apostle Paul referred to Jesus Christ as the source and foundation of all “our hope” (1 Tim. 1:1). But Paul is not alone in this assessment, as the Apostle Peter had this to say,

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3).

In other words, all of our hope is grounded in the “resurrection of Jesus Christ.” And it’s because of His resurrection that we have any spiritual hope at all. Paul’s desire for the Christians in Rome was that,

“…the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Rom 15:13).

Paul knew that the dispenser of hope was none other than the “God of hope,” and that He would also provide joy, peace, and an “abundance of hope” to every believer.  

One of the early Christian symbols for our faith was an anchor. It has been found in many of the ancient catacombs, and it brings together the cross and a nautical anchor, symbolizing the Christian hope in Christ in the midst of a turbulent world. The anchor symbolizes that which we need to keep us stable when confusion and turbulence, like the waves of the sea, try to overwhelm us. The writer of Hebrews says,

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Heb. 6:19)

This anchor is Jesus Christ, and He is the One who keeps us from drifting away from our faith, preventing us from becoming agitated and fearful over what is going on around us. When the waves seem to engulf us, our Anchor,  Jesus Christ, serves to stabilize our faith and maintains peace and rest in the midst of the storms of life.  

May each one of us grab onto that Anchor during these turbulent times. There are some huge advantages and blessings if we will do so. We will take some time to look at these next week. For this week, find your hope in the One who is the Anchor for your soul and see how, in the midst of these turbulent times, you will find stability and rest.