We don’t talk about hope when all is going well. When things are going along smoothly, there is no reason to. There is no expectation that things will take a nose dive. But eventually, they will.
I’m not trying to be fatalistic. It’s simply a fact. We live in a fallen world. as a result, at one time or another, our circumstances will stink.
That’s when we talk about hope. That’s when it counts. When things are not going well. Because we are hoping for something better, for a turn around. For things to improve.
People don’t look for hope when life is good. People look for hope when life stinks. That’s when it counts.
For those of us who put our faith in Jesus, we don’t have a “get out of jail free card“ when life hands us a crummy situation. Just because we are God’s children doesn’t mean we are immune from the tough stuff.
We have kids who struggle in school, who are intent on learning the hard way. We have disappointments. We get unwanted diagnoses. We experience tragic loss.
The difference is, we have hope. It’s not a hope that God will wave a magic wand and make the tough stuff disappear. That’s the earthly hope. A part of us certainly wants that, and we often pray that God will fix everything like new or mostly like new.
Biblical hope is different. It doesn’t focus on removing difficult circumstances. Biblical call hope is looking forward to a confident expectation. There is no confidence in earthly hope.
In those days when we were living apart from Jesus, we were excluded from citizenship, and we did not have the covenant promises of God made. We lived in the world -without hope and without hope.
In Ephesians 2:12, Paul wrote to the Gentile Christians. He explained that before they knew Christ Jesus, they were without hope. They did not know God. And since they did not know God, they had no deliverer. It is the same for unbeliever today. Paul told the Gentiles this,
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago” –Ephesians 2:10
From the very beginning, God had a plan for them and us. He created us for a specific purpose, to do good things you planned for us to do. This is our hope.
For those who do not know, Jesus, it is tragic when they lose loved ones. It’s painful for believers too. But we have hope in the future. None of us are happy when a loved one is facing death. But we have to have confident expectation that we will see them again.
I may not be able to tell you what happened to believers who have died in the past. But if we believe in Christ Jesus we will not grieve like people who have no hope.
Since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with them the believers who have died. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 tells us,
“Concerning those who have fallen asleep (died), so that you don’t worry like the rest and have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died in was again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”
The human body can survive without food for 1 to 2 weeks depending on one’s health, hydration, body fat reserves. we can survive with without water about 3 to 4 days. And only 1 day without hope. While hope is not a physical necessity, like water or food, it is critical for mental and emotional survival. Without hope, people succumb to despair, which can lead to loss of life, especially in extreme circumstances.
The purpose of hope is to sustain us through unimaginable hardship.
While physical needs are essential, mental resilience -driven by hope is equal revival for survival. It’s less about literal timelines and more about the power of mindset.
From Pity to Praise 