In this season of love, it’s not unusual for 1 Corinthians 13:13 to come to mind: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Faith is defined as a firm persuasion; something God has given to each of us in measure (Romans 12:3). Faith is also the substance of things hoped for. And as we just read, love is the greatest of this trio. But what is hope?
When I think of hope, I think of expectation. The Greek Study Bible says hope is a desire of some good, with expectation of obtaining it. This isn’t much different than our dictionary, which says hope is a feeling of expectation or trust. What I have noticed however, is that when people use the word hope, it’s in almost a negative sense instead of a positive.
In other words, they “hope” God hears them when they pray. They “hope” He will heal them. They “hope” all will turn out well. The problem with this is that doubt is attached to it. They’re using the word “hope” but not in faith.
Now think about this.
If “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), then hope is a very important ingredient to our faith. But if a person’s hope is mingled with lots of doubt, their faith is definitely going to be effected. And this is a problem.
Paul said, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). So, number one, the Word of God was always designed to give us hope (or expectation of good). The Amplified Bible says, “For whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope.”
This actually explains why some people don’t have as much biblical hope as God would like. When we neglect the Word of God (by having none or little quiet time reading it), how can the Scriptures give us hope? It is only through the inspiration and encouragement of God’s Word that “we can live in hope and endure all things” (TPT).
These things work together.
In the same chapter, Paul went on to say, quoting Isaiah, “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope” (Romans 15:12; Isaiah 11:10). Jesus is our hope. He is our expectation of good. This was Paul’s message.
And that’s not all– he added, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). First of all, He is the GOD OF HOPE. And Romans 5:5 says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” We know God is love, but He is also the God of our faith, and the God of our hope.
The Word of God is designed to give us joy and peace in believing! This then turns into a super-abundance of hope, and faith is the substance of things hoped for! Therefore, faith is enlarged! And all of this is possible because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts to confirm these truths!
It’s a beautiful circle.
Faith, hope, love; these three– and we know the greatest of these is love. But without HOPE, there’s no faith. Without faith, there’s no experience of love.
Hope is your expectation of good– that God is good and His mercy endures forever. Hope is vital to our faith because “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1, NLT). Yet.
Always add “yet” when clinging to hope. It is your hold on the promises of God that although what you’re believing for hasn’t manifested (yet), you trust God and His Word. And God’s Word doesn’t return to Him void, but shall accomplish what He pleases, and it shall prosper in the thing for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11). This is the power of hope.
