HOPE
Hope in God's
promises, therefore, is not a wishful longing but a faith-filled confidence for
the future. It is simply impossible to trust one of God's promises and not
anticipate its coming true. To know God is to trust Him. And to trust God is to
trust His promises. And to trust God's promises is to be sure of their
fulfillment. This assurance concerning the future, anchored in God's promises,
is what the Bible calls "hope."
The God of Promise and the Life of
Faith. Crossway Books, 2001, p. 109.
In the midst
of an ever-changing world, the good news is that the life of faith is anchored
by the power, provisions, and promises of God. Circumstances may change, but
the future is as sure as the character of God Himself. No matter what happens,
those who trust in God hope in His word.
Scott Hafemann
The God of Promise and the Life of
Faith. Crossway Books, 2001, p. 187.
The word hope I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else
but the constancy of faith.
John Calvin
Hope fills
the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh
while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called “the
rejoicing of hope” (Hebrews 3:6).
William Gurnall
A Puritan Golden Treasury,
compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 144.
Your hope as
a believer is in the Lord. He causes all things in your life (including
problems and trials) to work together for good as you continually respond in
love (demonstrated through obedience) to Him. Out of the hope that God
provides, your faith and love can be biblically expressed in any situation.
Understanding and responding biblically to problems glorifies God while He
further conforms you to the image of Jesus Christ.
Biblical Counseling Foundation
Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 6, Page 2,
Used by Permission of the Biblical Counseling Foundation.
The hope that
God has provided for you is not merely a wish.
Neither is it dependent on other people, possessions, or circumstances
for its validity. Instead, biblical hope is an application of your faith that
supplies a confident expectation in God’s fulfillment of His promises. Coupled
with faith and love, hope is part of the abiding characteristics in a
believer’s life.
Biblical Counseling Foundation
Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 6, Page 6,
Used by Permission of the Biblical Counseling Foundation.
Christian
hope, biblical hope is "a confident expectation and desire for something
good in the future." And from that definition we can see three things that
must be true about something if it indeed is to be the object of biblical hope.
1.
What we hope for must be something good.
2.
What we hope for must be in the future.
3.
What we hope for must be certain, not
doubtful, so that our expectation of its coming to pass may be confident, not
wavering.
Steve Roy
Sermon, Our Hope, Eternal Life, June
29, 1986, www.DesiringGod.org, Used
by Permission.
[Christians]
should hope in God confidently, because He hath promised; prayerfully, for He
loves to hear from us; obediently, for His precepts are to be observed by us;
and constantly, for He is always the same.
James Smith
The Believer's Daily Remembrance.
Despondency
does not become a prince, much less a Christian. Our God is “THE GOD OF HOPE”;
and we should hope in Him. [We] should hope in His mercy, in His patience, in
His provision, in His plenteous redemption. [We] should hope for light in
darkness; for strength in weakness; for direction in perplexity; for
deliverance in danger; for victory in conflict; and for triumph in death.
James Smith
The Believer's Daily Remembrance.
Do
not look to your hope, but to Christ, the source of your hope.
Every
Christian who struggles with depression struggles to keep their hope clear.
There is nothing wrong with the object of their hope – Jesus Christ is not
defective in any way whatsoever. But the view from the struggling Christian's
heart of their objective hope could be obscured by disease and pain, the
pressures of life, and by Satanic fiery darts shot against them… All
discouragement and depression is related to the obscuring of our hope, and we
need to get those clouds out of the way and fight like crazy to see clearly how
precious Christ is.
John
Piper
Can Christian be Depressed?
Ask Pastor John, December 19, 2007, www.DesiringGod.org. Used by Permission.
Hope is
called the anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19), because it gives stability to the
Christian life. But hope is not simply a “wish” (I wish that such-and-such
would take place); rather, it is that which latches on to the certainty of the
promises of the future that God has made.
R.C. Sproul
The Purpose of God, An
Exposition of Ephesians, Christian Focus Publications, 1994, p. 40.
If you are
hopeless, there may be many contributors, but two are certain:
1. You have placed your hope in something
other than God…and it has let you down.
2. You may understand that Jesus
conquered death, but you live as though He is still in the grave. All
hopelessness is ultimately a denial of the resurrection.
Ed Welch
Depression:
A Stubborn Darkness, Punch Press, 2004, p. 253.
Other
stories are always looking for ways to humanize God and deify us, but God’s
story exalts Him and brings appropriate humility to us as His creatures. All
wisdom starts here. If you miss it, you are on the wrong path and without hope.
Ed Welch
Depression:
A Stubborn Darkness, Punch Press, 2004, p. 252.
There is a
difference between tears of hope and tears of hopelessness.
Erwin
Lutzer
One Minute After You Die, Moody, 1997, p. 59.
Hope: A
trusting expectation that God is going to keep His word.
Author
Unknown
One’s ability
to find hope in a seemingly hopeless situation is directly related to the
ability to see God’s hand in that situation. If you are despairing…you are
probably not focusing on what God intends to do in your life, and for His
kingdom as a result of it.
Lou
Priolo
Divorce: Before You Say “I Don’t,” 2007,
P&R, p. 23. Used by Permission.
Christian
hope rests upon the fact not that evil can be ignored, or that it will simply
fade away, but that it has been judged at the cross.
David Wells
Forward
in Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment by Robert Peterson, P&R
Publishers, 1995, p. x, Used by Permission.
God commands
his people to hope. To be sure, it’s only as He gives us hope that He commands
us to hope, yet command us to hope He most certainly does. For this reason the
mediaeval rabbis used to say that the arch sin is despair.
Victor
Shepherd
You Asked for a Sermon on Hope, March 1999, www.victorshepherd.on.ca.
You must have
noticed that Scripture links faith, hope and love, and groups them together
again and again. Hope is the middle term between faith and love. Hope keeps
faith from collapsing under the burden of disappointment and delay. Hope keeps
love from dissolving under the acids of frustration. Hope fortifies love and
lends it resilience. Hope stiffens faith and forestalls collapse.
Victor
Shepherd
You Asked for a Sermon on Hope, March 1999, www.victorshepherd.on.ca.
Hope, from a
biblical perspective, is a future certainty grounded in a present reality.
Victor
Shepherd
You Asked for a Sermon on Hope, March 1999, www.victorshepherd.on.ca.