Fundamentals of Hope

My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.

Psalm 42:3,11

In Christ, we’re made to hope, and our hope in Him strengthens us in our journey of faith. But sometimes suffering—or even just exhaustion from the battles we face in life—causes hope to feel beyond reach.

We’ve all wrestled with this, whether during seasons of physical affiliation, financial crisis, or loss, death, and grief—the times when “tears are our food,” the times when perhaps no one else can perceive or understand the depth of our pain. Yet when we’re suffering or struggling, hope becomes most important.

The battle for hope

To start, it’s helpful to know we’re not alone in this battle— everyone deals with this struggle in their soul at times. My own greatest war for hope came during the many years I waited for the healing of my body and for all the dreams and desires impossible to fulfill during my illness. Others have dealt with far more horrific circumstances, but I can only share my own story.

During this prolonged season of sickness, I held the posture of asking every day that this would be the day for healing and every day choosing fresh hope. In the process, I found sometimes embracing hope could be painful itself, because it required engaging my vision and emotions in a future reality that contrasted vividly with my present difficult one. And the choice to hope forced me to wrestle through feelings of hope deferred or disappointment when the answer continued to delay.

In this season, I received comfort from the Psalms and what they revealed about the battle for hope and the raw, real emotions that occur during this journey. If you’re in this place, just read Psalm 42 and the expression of pain contained within coupled with the continued commandment David gives to his soul to hope in God. Or look at Psalm 25, where David finds himself in the midst of countless troubles—surrounded by enemies, alone and afflicted—but still declaring his hope and trust in God.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction” (Romans 12:12). It’s more than a platitude, it’s a path. Our patience and perseverance—and yes, even rejoicing—during seasons of affliction will fuel our hope and faith.

The choice to hope

And here I found one of the keys: regardless of what we feel, we always have a choice. We always have authority over our own souls and the ability to command them to hope—even when we feel at our weakest. And when we make this choice, we will receive strength from God to persevere in faith.

Sometimes when you’re faced with a situation that requires a concerted effort of hope over a long period of time—whether it’s contending for physical healing, for financial provision, for change in a troubled marriage or for whatever area you’ve had promises that remain unfulfilled—it can be tempting to give up hope rather than experience disappointment. Hope usually involves waiting—for who hopes for what he already has? Maybe you’ve chosen hope again and again, only to feel dashed to the ground every time, bewildered as to why answers delay and prayers seem to go unheard. Scripture addresses this feeling as “hope deferred” and says it makes the heart sick.

Or maybe you’re in a different situation. Maybe you’re not hoping and praying for a change in circumstance, but instead you need to see your pain through the lens of hope. Perhaps someone close and dearly loved has died. Perhaps you’ve endured traumas or abuse with lasting repercussions. Perhaps you’ve encountered irreversible disaster. Regardless, it’s essential to hope in God, to hold confidence in His ability to bring good even out of the worst suffering and loss.

In either case, if you find yourself heartsick and struggling to hope, what then? Though it may sound impossible, even at this point, you still have a choice. Go to God with all your emotions, pour our your heart like water to Him. Run to Him instead of away and receive His comfort and empowerment. Come back to the place of choosing hope, even if that choice looks like a weak whisper for help. Because the alternative will only crush your soul further, leading to discouragement, unbelief, and even despair—and ultimately agreement with the enemy rather than God. If we view our lives as hopeless, we’re defining them as “not susceptible to remedy or cure”—the very opposite of what Scripture declares.

The supernatural grace

The truth is that God always makes a way, and “his power is perfect in our weakness.” When every part of us feels weary or wounded, if we turn to him as the healer of our souls, if we choose hope, He will give us grace and sustain us even amid the pain of disappointment or hope deferred. He’s more than able to plant fresh hope, if we run to him in our pain instead of from him. I love that in Hosea 2:15 it says God makes the valley of trouble (Achor) a door of hope. It’s a vivid image of the transformational power God offers us as our worst, most bleak circumstances become a doorway of living hope. If we partner with Him, if we lean on Him when we have no strength, He WILL do this for us all.

Maybe this seems like a simplistic answer that doesn’t account for your unique circumstances, but the truth of Scripture applies in every situation. And I want to encourage you that to continue to hope—to continue agreeing with God—is always worth it. This choice doesn’t make difficulty magically vanish, but it brings us to a place of inner life and strength in the midst of hardship. And any time we align ourselves with God, it releases power in our souls and spirits, power that we need to sustain us on the journey. Next week, I’ll look at some of the practicals of how to cultivate this needed hope.

Are you struggling for hope right now? Or have you endured a battle in this area and come through with tips of your own to share?

Read part 1 and part 2 of the Fundamentals of Hope series.

…we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

(Romans 8:23-25)

As mentioned last week, hope strengthens us in faith and acts as a transformative force in our lives. Indeed, it’s evidence of the Spirit’s activity in us, and throughout Scripture, we find exhortations to put our faith and hope in God.

So when we follow this command, what impact does hope have in our lives?

1. Hope positions us to participate in and receive the unfolding of God’s plan in our lives. Hebrews 6:11 encourages us to “show earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end…[imitating] those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Our choice to hope equips us to persevere and inherit the promises of God, rather than grow weary and surrender our inheritance. Romans 8:25 confirms this saying, “if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Hope helps us wait on God’s timing and partner with Him in prayer for His purposes to be released.
2. Hope brings stability to our souls. It anchors us, so that we’re not governed by shifting emotions or blown off course by the difficulties of life, but instead stable and grounded in truth. Challenges, changes, and trials have less impact when we rest secure in an attitude of hope, because hope reminds us that ultimately we know our destiny—and it’s a glorious one (Hebrews 6).
3. Hope releases heavenly resources into our lives. There’s a divine grace we access in hope that strengthens us. Psalms 31:24 says, “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” I love this assurance! Further, hope draws the attention and supply of heaven, as revealed in Psalm 33:18, which says “the eyes of the Lord are on…those whose hope is in his unfailing love.” Other Scriptures speak of the Lord renewing our strength and releasing provision as we wait in hope for Him.
4. Hope empowers us to act in accordance with God’s ways. We see a variety of instances of this in Scripture. 2 Corinthians 3:12 says, “since we have such a [glorious] hope and confident expectation, we speak with great courage.” Paul proclaimed that our reason to labor and train ourselves in godliness springs from our hope in the living God (1 Timothy 4:7-10). And John stated that everyone with the hope of becoming like God when he appears, even now purifies himself. (1 John 3:3) In short, we will live very differently when we’re in hope—bringing ourselves more into alignment with God’s kingdom and his ways.
5. Hope strengthens our physical bodies. As our Creator, God knows the potent impact of hope in the human body, and He reveals it in Scripture. Hope in the human heart serves to increase our strength, and it brings fresh vitality our bodies. The demands of life take a toll, all the more so when dealing with grief, pain, or sickness, and we need this supernatural refreshing. Isaiah 40:31 sets forth the glorious promise that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Conversely, “the spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but a broken spirit [crushed, devoid of hope], who can bear?” (Proverbs 18:14) In God’s design, hope strengthens us physically, and scientific research affirms this powerful impact of hope (I anticipate exploring that here in the future).

Ultimately, a hopeful, Spirit-filled soul equips us to face every circumstance. When we, like Sarah, “consider him faithful who makes the promise,” we begin to live our lives in accordance with hope and agreement with heaven.

What are ways you’ve experienced this in your own life?

Read part 1 of the Fundamentals of Hope series.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.

Hebrews 6:19-20

To me, hope is a beautiful word…and a costly one. It’s beautiful because Spirit-given hope strengthened me through a long season of illness and pain until I reached the place of healing and restoration. It’s beautiful because Jesus revealed Himself to me as the God of hope, and everything about His nature and character is beautiful. But it’s also costly, because sometimes the choice to hope brings its own sort of pain. It requires more than natural strength—it necessitates bringing emotions into alignment with truth and choosing to agree with the Father despite every circumstance to the contrary.

But it’s a choice that empowers us in our daily lives, and Scripture is filled with countless stories of individuals living in hope, persevering for many years in anticipation of God unfolding His plan in their lives.

Hope Heroes

On my own journey of walking in hope, I’ve found immense encouragement in these tales—in the story of Hannah, yearning for her children and finding hope in her darkest hour through God’s promise to her, and then experiencing longing fulfilled many times over. Or the account of Abraham, who hoped against hope regarding the promises of God for his future and for the nation that would spring forth from a barren marriage and an ancient womb. Or the record of Simeon and Anna, who served faithfully in the temple, waiting and anticipating the promised redemption—the coming of Christ—and the privilege they received of witnessing God-in-the-flesh with their own eyes.

But the tales go beyond those contained in Scripture. From ancient history to modern day, there are accounts of heroes, those sung and unsung, who faced dark, painful circumstances, and yet found strength to press on through their hope in Christ.

Hope Defined

So what is hope, that it empowers this way?

Biblical hope—true hope—is the joyful, confident expectation of future good which keeps us in agreement with the perspective of heaven. Further, this expectation remains strong regardless of the situations we face. Hope looks beyond circumstance to the ultimate truth that God reveals. It rests on the knowledge of God—His character, His nature, and the provision He has made for our redemption. At its core, hope is confidence in God. It’s the choice to agree with what He says regarding Himself, the world we live in, and our own futures.

Scripture reveals that hope is sure, because ultimately Jesus—the one who is Faithful and True—is our hope. We can be certain that our hope in Him will never disappoint (Isaiah 49:23), and our confidence in Him will be richly rewarded (Hebrews 10:35). As Luke says: “Blessed [happy] is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Far from a passive wishfulness, true hope spurs us to action. Anchored in an understanding of the nature and character of God, hope fuels a response to His Word and gives birth to vibrant faith. Strongs Concordance defines the Greek word elpis, which we translate as hope, as “to anticipate, usually with pleasure; expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence:—faith, hope.” And so we see that our journey of faith twines intimately together with hope. They are two sides of the same coin. Our steadfast hope in the gospel fuels our faith (Colossians 1), and it’s part of what we are called to as believers (Ephesians 1). It brings our minds and emotions into agreement with truth and enables us to persevere. It’s a fruit of the Spirit, and a sign of His work in our lives.

In short, hope transforms the way we live our lives. It causes us to live from the perspective of heaven.

Hope in Our Lives

Over the next few weeks, I plan to explore the fundamentals of living in hope—how and why hope transforms, how to choose hope, and how to grow in hope even in challenging seasons. And I pray that as you read, you find encouragement and the renewed ability to hope in your own life.

What questions do you have about growing in hope? Are you on a hope journey in your own life? I’d love to dialogue.