(This post about the Gift of Hope is the second in our new series on Unwrapping Christmas: Gifts From Jesus.)
Hope. It’s a word we often see at Christmastime on decorations, ornaments, and in Christmas cards. We hear it in Christmas songs and hymns. And this Christmas– almost two years into this new life with Covid— it stands out as a special, treasured, and even coveted promise of God.
We hope. And we long for hope.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…. (Ephesians 1:3)
Like this verse mentions, and Cheli said in the introduction to this series, Jesus has given us innumerable blessings. One of those blessings is hope.
Let’s unwrap that.
What Is Hope?
Years ago, I did a study on the English word hope. I found that some researchers say, etymologically speaking, that the word is closely tied to the word “hop.” The idea is that hope makes one lean forward expectantly, moving forward with a leap of certain belief, toward something positive and wonderful. Hope. Hop. As a visual person who loves words, this image made total sense to me. I never saw the word hope the same way!
Look closely at the idea of what hope entails:
- It is expectant
- It moves forward
- It takes leaps (a mark of trust)
- With certainty
- With belief (both from the head and the heart)
- Toward something positive and wonderful (God)
Easton’s Bible Dictionary expounds on hope, saying: “Hope is an essential and fundamental element of Christian life, so essential indeed, that, like faith and love, it can itself designate the essence of Christianity.”
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
I love the words above from Easton. He refers to the three Christian virtues mentioned in the verse from 1 Corinthians – faith, hope, and love. These three are so fundamental to Christianity, that if you stripped them away what’s left would be unrecognizable. After all, what on earth would our religion (our relationship with Christ) look like if we didn’t have hope? Hope is tied so closely to faith, I might propose that if you loosened the knot of hope, the string of faith would unravel.
Have you seen someone lose all hope? And then lose their faith? (Of course, one could argue that they might not have had true saving faith in the first place, but that is another discussion.)
Hope is crucial to a forward movement. Without it, we would spiritually stall and wither.
There’s something beautiful about hope; like faith and love, hope can grow. As we use it, practice it, rely on God through it, it strengthens and develops. (Because He works that growth in us!)
How Is Hope “Spiritual?”
Though it isn’t listed as a “spiritual gift,” hope is indeed a gift that is given to us by God. We were “saved in hope:”
23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves while we await eagerly our adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we await it eagerly with patient endurance. (Romans 8:23-25)
And God Himself is the God of hope:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
We have the power to hope when there seems to be no hope. Through this miraculous gift of hope, God gives us comfort. Hope is founded on truth and gives us confidence – because it affirms what we know in our heads and enables us to feel that knowledge in our hearts.
When I was in labor with my youngest child, I was told to walk for one hour. And so I did. My contractions became increasingly powerful but the hour wasn’t up, so I kept walking. When labor grew so intense that I could barely continue, I forced myself to think “One foot in front of the other… one foot in front of the other…” And somehow, I kept moving.
This experience reminds me a bit of the way hope works. When life is at its hardest, hope propels us forward in faith as we remind ourselves that God is safe to hope in. Then, He helps us to put one foot in front of the other and keep going.
3 And not only this, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces patient endurance, 4 and patient endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:3–5)
What Hope Isn’t
Biblical hope isn’t merely a wish. We definitely can misuse the word. As in, “Mommy, I hope I get a pony for Christmas!” But that is the expression of a wish, and that isn’t what hope is. Instead, hope is planted in what’s real and true. (A’hem… Jesus.)
Hope also isn’t a simplistic, unrealistic frivolity that doesn’t take things seriously. No, hope can see exactly how bad the finances are, how serious the health issue, how dangerous the condition, how daunting the task, how impossible the circumstances… and yet still believe and trust in the God who can handle it all.
Hope doesn’t put faith in the things of this world. Hope knows that what’s most important is the unseen God who is working for His glory and our eternal good. Hope looks far forward, past the diagnosis, through the crisis, over the mess, and beyond the fear.
Hope doesn’t go it alone. If all this hope sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is… almost. We can only have hope because of Christ. And as Believers, we have Christ’s Holy Spirit in our hearts. That means He’s with us. We aren’t alone– and He can enable us to hope when hope seems impossible! (See? That hope really is too good, but it’s true.)
Who is the Object of our Hope?
I’ve hinted at this throughout, but true hope isn’t necessarily something we can have apart from God.
As Christians, we place our hope for salvation in Jesus Christ alone. (Remember, we hope confidently, being completely assured of our salvation– as I’ve explained above, this is more than a wish or an uncertainty!)
Yes, we hope in our mighty and loving God for our deliverance, future, provision, and care.
“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?” (Romans 8:24)
What’s the Result of Hope?
Hope increases and sustains our faith. As we are sustained in our faith through hope, we continue to look for God’s activity. As we look, we find. And when we see Him working in our lives (or in the lives of those we love and pray for), our faith is strengthened. That makes us hope more! It becomes a cycle with a snowball effect— round and round, growing and growing.
Seeing God at work makes us confident we will see Him work again. We see evidence that He is trustworthy which increases our hope of His work in the future. This matures our faith.
Hope Trusts, Regardless
But what about when we hope for something that doesn’t happen? Or when the prayers don’t get answered in the way we want? What about when we hope for a healing, provision, job, reconciliation, or what have you, and it just doesn’t come?
Hope trusts God, regardless. And that’s when things get hard. Or actually, maybe a better way to look at it would be this: that’s when it gets simple. (Admittedly that doesn’t mean it’s easy.)
Sometimes it’s hard to hope in God– when things don’t go like we planned, or like we wanted. But the simple thing to do is to trust God anyway. Hope is realistic, remember? That means that a true, biblical hope keeps in mind that God knows best. Even when God chooses differently than what we’d like. (If you struggle with this, read Job chapters 39-42. It’ll help your perspective.)
In other words? A hopeful heart is a submissive heart.
Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him, the ones who hope for his loyal love. (Psalm 147:11)
Reflecting on Hope
As you reflect on this year, or even the past couple of years, what would you say God has taught you about hope? Has He given you special opportunities to practice it? To rely on Him through it? Thank Him for that.
As we spend the rest of the month focusing on Christmas, I challenge you to remember the fullness of the hope that came those two-thousand years ago. Each time you see a nativity, let it be a reminder to stop and praise God for His innumerable blessings! Praise God for sending His Son, Jesus— the gift of hope to the world!
Merry Christmas,
Ali
[…] unwraps the gift of hope in her post, The Gift of Hope. She leads us through a thorough look at what hope is and isn’t, focusing us on the object and […]