Hope
by Frank Sasso
"... Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the HOPE that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully."
- 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
“…Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are,
and always with the utmost courtesy.”
- 1 Peter 3:15 (The Message)
I’m going to start this article out with Psalm 130.
Psalm 130 -
Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord!
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my HOPE.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel put your HOPE in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with Him is full redemption.
He Himself will redeem Israel
From all their sins.
The writer here was confident that God would help him. So he had HOPE. That's why he waited. Only the person who HOPE to receive something will wait for that thing, and the person will continue to wait as long as he still has HOPE.
God does not disappoint the person who waits for Him. HOPE in God is never HOPE-less! That is because the reason for our HOPE in God is God’s promises. That is, His Word. For example, when people confess their sins to God and they invite Jesus into their lives, God promises to forgive them.*(Acts 3:19). That person may not feel as if God has forgiven Him. But that person can have confidence as he trusts God. God has given His promise. And God does everything that He promises to do.
So, the writer of Psalm 130 was eager as he waited for God. He knew that he deserved God’s punishment, but he was not waiting for God to punish Him. He was waiting, with HOPE, for God to rescue Him. He knew that God had promised to forgive Him. He knew that God would free Him completely from his sins. He had that HOPE.
*Acts 3:19 - Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Appearances:
HOPE appears in the Bible 126 times: 68 times in the Old Testament, 58 times in the New Testament.
Variations:
HOPED - 11 times: 7 in the OT, 4 in the NT.
HOPES - one time in the NT.
HOPETH - once in the NT. (KJV)
HOPE in the Hebrew:
Tikvath, Tikvah, or Tikva = HOPE
Word origin – n/a
- father of Shallum, the husband of the prophetess Huldah in the time of king Josiah of Judah.
- father of Tikvah in the time of Ezra
HOPE in the Greek:
Elpis = HOPE
Word origin - from a primary elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure)
1. expectation of good, HOPE
A) in the Christian sense
aa) joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation
2. on HOPE, in HOPE, having HOPE
A) the author of HOPE, or he who is its foundation
B) the thing hoped for
A Definition of HOPE
What is HOPE? Is it “wishy-washy maybe" or a kind of "unsure optimism"? The modern idea of HOPE is “to wish for, to expect, but without certainty of the fulfillment; to desire very much, but with no real assurance of getting your desire.” Unfortunately, many Christians would agree with this definition as it relates to them.
In Scripture, according to the Hebrew and Greek words translated by the word HOPE and according to the biblical usage, HOPE is an indication of certainty. HOPE in Scripture means “a strong and confident expectation.” Someone might even say that HOPE is somewhat compatible to trust and a confident expectation".
HOPE may refer to the activity of hoping, or to the object hoped for - the content of one’s HOPE. By its very nature, HOPE stresses two things:
(a) futurity, and
(b) invisibility. It deals with things we can’t see or haven’t received or both .
Romans 8:24-25 - For in this HOPE we were saved. But HOPE that is seen is no HOPE at all. Who HOPES for what they already have? 25 But if we HOPE for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Biblically, from the standpoint of the object hoped for, HOPE is synonymous with salvation and its many benefits (past, present, and future) as promised in Scripture. This is true even with what we have already received as believers because these benefits come under the category of what we cannot see. We may see some of the results, but it still requires faith and HOPE. For example, we don't see the justifying work of God, and we don't see the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we're saved. We believe this to be a reality, but this is a matter of our HOPE. We believe in the testimony of God in the Word and HOPE for the results in our lives.
In a sense, HOPE is the confident expectation, the sure certainty that what God has promised in the Word is true, has occurred, and/or will in relation to the Word.
A Description of HOPE
It is dynamic or active. In the Bible, HOPE is never a static or passive thing. It is dynamic, active, guiding, and life sustaining. This is obvious everywhere as we read the Word. Take a concordance, look up the word HOPE and you will find reference after reference pointing out the active results of HOPE in the lives of those who truly have a biblical HOPE and live accordingly. In knowing your rights as the Righteousness of God, however, when a righteous person prays, they don't have to "hope" and pray. In this sense, HOPE is used as a nice way to say that the person praying has more doubt in the effectiveness of his prayer and doesn't really trust God.
HOPE gets results.
1. It changes how we see ourselves.
2 Peter 1:13 - I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body.
1 Peter 2:11 - Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
2. It affects what we do with our lives - our talents, time, treasures.
Titus 2:1-13 - You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. 6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. 9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. 11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed HOPE—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
1 John 3:1-3 - See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is. 3 All who have this HOPE in Him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
The Christian life, if it is grasped according to God's truth, is a magnificent obsession with an eternal HOPE, a HOPE that leads to the pursuit of life on a whole new dimension. It makes you hopeful on the potentials of this life as sons and daughters of God. It gives us power to live courageously, to be all God has called us to be in Christ and THAT is the highest form of humility; that what He says I can do, I SAY I CAN DO!!! As well as being dynamic, HOPE also has something else:
HOPE has Rewards and Blessings.
1. It gives us joy and peace.
Romans 15:13 - 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 5:2 - through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the HOPE of the glory of God.
2. It gives us protection.
Psalm 33:18 - But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose HOPE is in his unfailing love.
3. It gives us strength, and courage.
Psalm 31:24 - Be strong and take heart, all you who HOPE in the LORD.
4. It gives us endurance, comfort, and confidence in the face of death.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 - Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no HOPE.
5. It gives us confidence in ministry.
1 Timothy 4:10 - That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our HOPE in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
Where and How Do We Get HOPE?
NEGATIVE - warnings regarding false HOPE.
There are a number of warnings in Scripture against putting our HOPE in anything other than the Lord because these things will leave us ashamed, frustrated, disappointed, humiliated, and in ruin, or at the least, make us ready to give up, break down, cave in, and quit.
Job 8:11-15 - Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? 12 While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. 13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the HOPE of the godless. 14 What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web. 15 They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.
Psalm 33:17 - A horse is a vain HOPE for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. (Point: deliverance must come from the Lord.)
Psalm 146:5 - Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose HOPE is in the LORD their God.
Proverbs 10:28 - The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
Proverbs 11:7 - HOPE placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.
Proverbs 24:14 - Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future HOPE for you, and your HOPE will not be cut off.
POSITIVE - the means and basis of the only true HOPE.
God is called “the God of HOPE”. This means He is the source of all real HOPE. If we are going to have HOPE (confident expectation), it must come from Him because He, and He alone, has the power to give it.
Psalm 62:5 - Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my HOPE comes from Him.
Romans 15:13 - 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.
If you are without Christ, you are without God and without HOPE.
Ephesians 2:12 - Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without HOPE and without God in the world.
1 Timothy 1:1-2 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our HOPE, 2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
What does HOPE depend on?
1. HOPE depends on knowing the Word of God.
Romans 15:4 - For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have HOPE.
Colossians 1:5-6 - the faith and love that spring from the HOPE stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world - just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
2. HOPE depends on knowing what the Rest is and entering it. (The Glory of God)
2 Thessalonians 2:16 - May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good HOPE.
3. HOPE depends on the Spirit Filled life.
Romans 15:13 - 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.
1 Peter 1:13 - Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your HOPE on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
During this study I found one of those Scriptures that give sort of a breakdown or formulaic step by step guide to how HOPE gets birthed. In this Scripture, it’s through struggles. (storms, trials, challenges, hardships, sufferings, etc.)
Romans 5:3-5 - Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, HOPE. 5 And HOPE does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
I think it’s interesting in this Scripture that HOPE is being referred to as the result, not the beginning of enduring hardship.
Often, we think that HOPE must come before hardships, but HOPE, sometimes, is a part of character, which is a part of perseverance, and perseverance from suffering. So, what I get is that, sometimes, HOPE really is witness to God’s presence in times of struggle. HOPE is not just a feeling. HOPE is a “knowing” in that sense.
Romans 8:24-25 - For in this HOPE we were saved. But HOPE that is seen is no HOPE at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we HOPE for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
HOPE comes as a result of tiresome challenges, HOPE goes beyond our character. HOPE is only found in one place because people fail us, and the truth is, everything and everyone will fail us except for the Father.
A final word on HOPE
Any place in your life where you’re not experiencing hope, is under the influence of a lie.
How cool is that? For example, if you don’t have hope in your finances, you’re under the influence of a lie there. If you don’t have hope in your relationships, you’re under the influence of a lie in that area. If you don’t have hope in your personal life for victory, you’re under the influence of a lie concerning victory. If there’s a place in your life that you’re struggling with and you’re thinking, “Oh, this will never change!, This will never be better!, I’ve had this stronghold for 20 years!”, ANY place that you’re not experiencing hope is under the influence of a lie.
Check out this Scripture. 1 Corinthians 13:13 - And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. As I read that very familiar Scripture over and over again, I realized something. Because the Word says that “the greatest of these is love”, it occurred to me that most of the time we just focus on love. Now, don’t get me wrong here. I’m NOT saying that’s bad! Faith is so important because without it, it’s impossible to please God. So, as a result, we tend to focus on faith and love while hope sort of becomes the overlooked stepchild! HOPE becomes the middle kid of the virtues! lol!
HOPE is essential for our lives. We have to have HOPE. I was poking around on the internet and found some cool stuff in preparation for this word study. I found that U.S. Army doctors have identified a syndrome in P.O.W.’s from both the Korean war and the Vietnam war, they call it, “Give-up-itis”. I know. Cheesy, but it makes a lot of sense. They found that young men, when captured and subjected to terrible conditions over a period of time, if they let go of HOPE, they would just begin to wither and die.
Major F. J. Harold Kushner was a prisoner of the Vietcong for 5 years. He was a 24 year old Marine who was promised that if he would cooperate with his captors that they would release him. So, he became a model prisoner. He even took over their thought reform program and helped the other prisoners. He did everything they asked him to do, until it dawned on Major Kushner that the commander of the P.O.W. camp had lied to him and he wasn’t going to release him. When the Major realized that, he lost HOPE. He wouldn’t receive any encouragement from anyone, he stopped eating, and eventually just laid on his cot sucking his thumb day after day. In 2 weeks from that moment, he died. We’re not designed to live without hope. Romans 15:13 gives a great picture of how God is desiring to pour HOPE into our lives.
Romans 15:13 - 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.
God’s not after a little trickle of HOPE into our lives, He wants an OVERFLOWING of HOPE in our lives! That Scripture talks about how we have “…received God’s ABUNDANT PROVISION OF GRACE and of the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS…”, God doesn’t do stuff just a little, He’s not chincy! It’s an OVERFLOWING of hope, it’s an ABUNDANCE of grace!
So, how would I define HOPE?
HOPE is the confident expectation that God is willing and able to fulfill his promises.
I want to list 3 things that sort of look like HOPE but really aren’t HOPE. I’m listing these because I feel we, as Christians, use HOPE sometimes in an inappropriate way.
1. HOPE is not wishful thinking.
Thinking on things that you have no control over, but you sort of “HOPE” that your wishful thinking will make a difference. I mean, I watched a UFC fight once with this kind of “wishful thinking”. There are still people out there that think UFC fighter Phil Baroni will come out of retirement and compete again some day soon. That’s wishful thinking. It’s not really HOPE.
2. HOPE is not blind optimism.
Some people are just pessimists. No matter what happens, they can put a doom and gloom spin on it. They can find the dark cloud on any silver lining you can point out. Then, other people are just blindly optimistic. Here’s a story. A couple had 2 boys. One was a total pessimist. The other was a total optimist. So, the parents are concerned about their boys and they’re like, “We gotta do something to balance these kids out.” So, one Christmas they filled the pessimist’s room with every toy they could think of and told the boy to go to his room and 2 hours later, he comes out and the parent’s said to him, “Son, did you have fun playing with your toys?” The son said, “No. I didn’t open any of them because I was afraid I’d break them if I played with them.” They filled the optimist’s room with horse manure and sent him to his room. 2 hours later, he comes out covered in horse manure, but he’s grinning from ear to ear. “Son! What are you doing?! What’s the deal?!” The son said, “Well, I knew that if I dug long enough, I’d eventually find a pony in there!” I wish I cold take credit for that joke. So, HOPE is not wishful thinking and it’s not blind optimism.
3. HOPE is not hopeful dreams.
Sometimes we have dreams and we may even set a plan to begin to bring those dreams into fruition, but the problem with that is we’re restricted by our own limitations and factors that are out of our control. For example, I want to be a millionaire by the time I’m 35 years old. Well, at 43, that’s going to be a bit difficult.
God’s pattern is to bring the light into the darkness. If we go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, we see Adam and Eve walking in the cool of the day with God. The snake comes, deceives Eve, she eats the fruit, gives it to Adam, he eats the fruit, and the first game of Hide n’ Seek begins. God comes walking in the garden. “Adam, where are you?” Adam says, “I knew I was naked, so I hid.” Then God speaks to the snake and says, Genesis 3:14-15 - Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Adam and Eve had known nothing but the presence of God all their lives and now, suddenly, they’re cut off from that presence. They’re kicked out of the garden and an angel with a flaming sword is set there to keep them from coming back and eating of the tree of life. If you want to talk about darkness and despair, they’re experiencing it and yet, into that darkness, God speaks light, He speaks His promise. “I’m going to put enmity between you and the woman, your seed and hers. He’s gonna crush your head!” The first prophetic word, hinting at the coming of Jesus. Light into darkness. In Romans 15-4 it says that “…everything in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures, and the encouragement they provide, we might have HOPE.” So, we can learn from the things that other people have experienced that are written in the Scriptures.
I did some research on the history of Israel. I feel it relates to HOPE. Bear with me a minute. The high point of the nation of Israel was during the reign of King David and his son Solomon. I mean, Israel was the nation to be during that time. But Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, got stupid and he took wives who led his heart away from the Lord to other gods. As a result, after Solomon died, the nation of Israel split into 2 parts.
The 10 northern tribes were called Israel and the 2 southern tribes was called Judah. The 10 northern tribes never had a Godly king. Their kings always led them into idolatry and worshiping other gods. The 2 tribes to the south had a mixture. They had some Godly kings, God would send revival, people would come back to true faith in Him, and they would also have jerks that would lead them into idolatry and worshiping other gods.
Then, the Assyrians came and conquered the 10 northern tribes. In those days, when one nation conquered another nation, there were no rules. You were either the conqueror and the conquered. If you were the conquered, there was nothing you could do about anything the conquerors did to you. No rules. No Geneva convention, nothing. So, the conquerors routinely raped the women and killed the children. They were known for ripping the bellies of pregnant women to kill them and their child. This was brutal, brutal times. The final thing that they would do is take the people and put them in what was called a “death march”. They would march them out of their country to another country that they had conquered and the strategy behind this was if they would take them away from their own land, they wouldn’t know the country, so they wouldn’t know where they could hide, they’d be demoralized and they wouldn’t revolt. So, that’s what would happen. Those 10 tribes of Israel were scattered to other nations that were now in the Assyrian empire and we have no clue where they are today. Judah, because they had “some” Godly kings that would encourage them from time to time, they lasted probably a couple of hundred years more. Eventually, their sins brought judgment on them and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came and carried them away into captivity.
Hang in there. I’m almost done. At that time, there was a prophet named Jeremiah who had been prophesying, from when he was a young guy, to the people of Israel calling people back to their relationship with God; calling them to repent of their sins, telling them that if they don’t repent, judgment is gonna come. “It’s gonna be bad, you guys better repent!” All his life, they had laughed at him, ridiculed him, and paid no attention to him. Then, judgment came and King Nebuchadnezzar himself came to Jerusalem and then King Jehoiachin surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar. So, they marched the people of Jerusalem all the way to Babylon. It was a death march. I wonder how many people died just along the way to Babylon. When people got carried away into exile that way, the nation ceased to exist. That’s what happened to all the nations around Israel! They were absorbed into the culture of the country that they were taken to. When was the last time you took your family out for a home-cooked Hittite meal? Just try and take someone on a date to go see the 3 Edomite Tenors in concert. The reason you can’t is because those nations simply ceased to exist! Everything about them ceased to exist.
So, that’s the kind of darkness that God’s people, Israel, faced when Nebuchadnezzar took them out of Israel to Babylon. In that context, Jeremiah writes them a letter. Now, if it were me, I know the letter I would have written. It would have been a very short letter. I would have written something like, “Dear Israel, I told you so! Respectfully, Jeremiah” God forgive me. But Jeremiah didn’t do that. Jeremiah wrote them a letter of hope. Jeremiah 29 is that letter. I’m not going to go through the whole chapter, but I do want to pull some things out of it. Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future.” Then, in Jeremiah 31:17, He says, "So there is hope for your descendants,” declares the Lord.”Your children will return to their own land. Into the darkness. They had watched their friends and neighbors die. Some of starvation, some of them killed and some ate their own children, some killed by the Babylonians, some tortured to death. They watched their friends be raped and murdered and they faced the very real possibility that their nation had ceased to exist as a nation. Into that kind of darkness comes the light of these kinds of prophetic words from the Lord through Jeremiah.
70 years later, God moves on the heart of a pagan king, Cyrus, to send a remnant. Like 43,000 people. There had been millions. But, anyway, 43,000 come back out of exile to Jerusalem to begin to rebuild the city. To His people facing national extinction, His words brings light and hope. To His people who are looking for their Messiah to come, the prophets speak.
Look at Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel.
Look at Micah 5:2 - But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
See the pattern?
God speaks His words of light into darkness. To bring hope into despair. You can see it in Eden, you can see it in the time of exile, you can see it when His people are looking for the Messiah. I’m being a bit sarcastic here, but, do you think it’s possible He would want to do the same for us? Any area of our lives where there seems to be no HOPE, is under the influence of a lie; that is, until the Word of God comes. The Truth of God comes to displace and destroy the lies and bring hope. The prophets spoke to His people that were looking for the Messiah about the coming of Jesus. WHY would we think that He would have prophets that spoke 2-3,000 years ago and NOT have them speaking to us today? In fact, today, it’s not only that there are prophets who speak words of hope to the people of God, but, God’s plan is that He had given His Holy Spirit to everyone who has put their faith in Him and the Scriptures say that we all can prophesize. We all can speak and encourage and comfort.
1 Corinthians 14:3 - But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
That word, “encouraging”, honestly, I feel is not a big enough word for what the Holy Spirit wants to say to us today. I had a feeling there was more to it than what that word was translated to. So, I looked it up. The Greek word for “encouraging” is parakaleo, which literally means “to call alongside.” It’s used to describe the Holy Spirit when Jesus calls Him: the Comforter.
That’s the problem when stuff gets translated from one language to another. The words really lose meaning when it gets to English. The words aren’t really the same. They’re not congruent. The word parakaleo. It means “to call alongside” or “to call to one’s side” or “to call to one’s aid”. So, the idea of it is that when someone prophesizes, they speak words that bring aid or courage to a person to insure that they step into their destiny. It’s something associated to your future. It’s calling you. Its words that bring light so that you have HOPE! It calls you into the future! It calls you into your destiny!
Strength > the call into your destiny > and then the word “comfort”. Comfort is “helping you process the trials that you’ve already been through”. The stuff you’ve already gone through that beat you up, you need comfort for those things. So, the prophetic word comes, God anoints us to prophesize so we can strengthen people, to call them into their destiny, and to help them process the mess that they’ve been through in the past!
We have hope because, in Christ, our past has been absolved! There are so many people who feel like, “Oh, there can’t be anything good for me in the future because of all the bad things I’ve done! I’m not worthy! I’m not good enough! All the bad stuff I’ve done!” It’s like this “Karma” thing. It’s like people are thinking, “I’ve done all this bad stuff, so now all this bad stuff has to happen to me.” But, in Christ, OUR PAST IS ABSOLVED!! WE ARE FORGIVEN!! IT’S WASHED AWAY!! HALLELUJAH!! The thing most with people is that they have a hard time really believing that God is good enough and loves them enough to just wash that mess off of them. So, they allow guilt and condemnation to weigh them down and, as a result, they lose HOPE because they now focus on the past.
We have HOPE because our future is assured. HOPE is the confident expectation that God is willing and able to fulfill his promises. God keeps His promises and He has an amazing way, when we yield our lives to Him, of changing us and helping us know that our future is assured. 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Let’s start speaking words of HOPE into the dark areas of people’s lives!
"... Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the HOPE that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully."
- 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
“…Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are,
and always with the utmost courtesy.”
- 1 Peter 3:15 (The Message)
I’m going to start this article out with Psalm 130.
Psalm 130 -
Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord!
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my HOPE.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel put your HOPE in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with Him is full redemption.
He Himself will redeem Israel
From all their sins.
The writer here was confident that God would help him. So he had HOPE. That's why he waited. Only the person who HOPE to receive something will wait for that thing, and the person will continue to wait as long as he still has HOPE.
God does not disappoint the person who waits for Him. HOPE in God is never HOPE-less! That is because the reason for our HOPE in God is God’s promises. That is, His Word. For example, when people confess their sins to God and they invite Jesus into their lives, God promises to forgive them.*(Acts 3:19). That person may not feel as if God has forgiven Him. But that person can have confidence as he trusts God. God has given His promise. And God does everything that He promises to do.
So, the writer of Psalm 130 was eager as he waited for God. He knew that he deserved God’s punishment, but he was not waiting for God to punish Him. He was waiting, with HOPE, for God to rescue Him. He knew that God had promised to forgive Him. He knew that God would free Him completely from his sins. He had that HOPE.
*Acts 3:19 - Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Appearances:
HOPE appears in the Bible 126 times: 68 times in the Old Testament, 58 times in the New Testament.
Variations:
HOPED - 11 times: 7 in the OT, 4 in the NT.
HOPES - one time in the NT.
HOPETH - once in the NT. (KJV)
HOPE in the Hebrew:
Tikvath, Tikvah, or Tikva = HOPE
Word origin – n/a
- father of Shallum, the husband of the prophetess Huldah in the time of king Josiah of Judah.
- father of Tikvah in the time of Ezra
HOPE in the Greek:
Elpis = HOPE
Word origin - from a primary elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure)
1. expectation of good, HOPE
A) in the Christian sense
aa) joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation
2. on HOPE, in HOPE, having HOPE
A) the author of HOPE, or he who is its foundation
B) the thing hoped for
A Definition of HOPE
What is HOPE? Is it “wishy-washy maybe" or a kind of "unsure optimism"? The modern idea of HOPE is “to wish for, to expect, but without certainty of the fulfillment; to desire very much, but with no real assurance of getting your desire.” Unfortunately, many Christians would agree with this definition as it relates to them.
In Scripture, according to the Hebrew and Greek words translated by the word HOPE and according to the biblical usage, HOPE is an indication of certainty. HOPE in Scripture means “a strong and confident expectation.” Someone might even say that HOPE is somewhat compatible to trust and a confident expectation".
HOPE may refer to the activity of hoping, or to the object hoped for - the content of one’s HOPE. By its very nature, HOPE stresses two things:
(a) futurity, and
(b) invisibility. It deals with things we can’t see or haven’t received or both .
Romans 8:24-25 - For in this HOPE we were saved. But HOPE that is seen is no HOPE at all. Who HOPES for what they already have? 25 But if we HOPE for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Biblically, from the standpoint of the object hoped for, HOPE is synonymous with salvation and its many benefits (past, present, and future) as promised in Scripture. This is true even with what we have already received as believers because these benefits come under the category of what we cannot see. We may see some of the results, but it still requires faith and HOPE. For example, we don't see the justifying work of God, and we don't see the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we're saved. We believe this to be a reality, but this is a matter of our HOPE. We believe in the testimony of God in the Word and HOPE for the results in our lives.
In a sense, HOPE is the confident expectation, the sure certainty that what God has promised in the Word is true, has occurred, and/or will in relation to the Word.
A Description of HOPE
It is dynamic or active. In the Bible, HOPE is never a static or passive thing. It is dynamic, active, guiding, and life sustaining. This is obvious everywhere as we read the Word. Take a concordance, look up the word HOPE and you will find reference after reference pointing out the active results of HOPE in the lives of those who truly have a biblical HOPE and live accordingly. In knowing your rights as the Righteousness of God, however, when a righteous person prays, they don't have to "hope" and pray. In this sense, HOPE is used as a nice way to say that the person praying has more doubt in the effectiveness of his prayer and doesn't really trust God.
HOPE gets results.
1. It changes how we see ourselves.
2 Peter 1:13 - I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body.
1 Peter 2:11 - Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
2. It affects what we do with our lives - our talents, time, treasures.
Titus 2:1-13 - You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. 6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. 9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. 11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed HOPE—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
1 John 3:1-3 - See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is. 3 All who have this HOPE in Him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
The Christian life, if it is grasped according to God's truth, is a magnificent obsession with an eternal HOPE, a HOPE that leads to the pursuit of life on a whole new dimension. It makes you hopeful on the potentials of this life as sons and daughters of God. It gives us power to live courageously, to be all God has called us to be in Christ and THAT is the highest form of humility; that what He says I can do, I SAY I CAN DO!!! As well as being dynamic, HOPE also has something else:
HOPE has Rewards and Blessings.
1. It gives us joy and peace.
Romans 15:13 - 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 5:2 - through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the HOPE of the glory of God.
2. It gives us protection.
Psalm 33:18 - But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose HOPE is in his unfailing love.
3. It gives us strength, and courage.
Psalm 31:24 - Be strong and take heart, all you who HOPE in the LORD.
4. It gives us endurance, comfort, and confidence in the face of death.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 - Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no HOPE.
5. It gives us confidence in ministry.
1 Timothy 4:10 - That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our HOPE in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
Where and How Do We Get HOPE?
NEGATIVE - warnings regarding false HOPE.
There are a number of warnings in Scripture against putting our HOPE in anything other than the Lord because these things will leave us ashamed, frustrated, disappointed, humiliated, and in ruin, or at the least, make us ready to give up, break down, cave in, and quit.
Job 8:11-15 - Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? 12 While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. 13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the HOPE of the godless. 14 What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web. 15 They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.
Psalm 33:17 - A horse is a vain HOPE for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. (Point: deliverance must come from the Lord.)
Psalm 146:5 - Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose HOPE is in the LORD their God.
Proverbs 10:28 - The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
Proverbs 11:7 - HOPE placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.
Proverbs 24:14 - Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future HOPE for you, and your HOPE will not be cut off.
POSITIVE - the means and basis of the only true HOPE.
God is called “the God of HOPE”. This means He is the source of all real HOPE. If we are going to have HOPE (confident expectation), it must come from Him because He, and He alone, has the power to give it.
Psalm 62:5 - Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my HOPE comes from Him.
Romans 15:13 - 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.
If you are without Christ, you are without God and without HOPE.
Ephesians 2:12 - Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without HOPE and without God in the world.
1 Timothy 1:1-2 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our HOPE, 2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
What does HOPE depend on?
1. HOPE depends on knowing the Word of God.
Romans 15:4 - For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have HOPE.
Colossians 1:5-6 - the faith and love that spring from the HOPE stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world - just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
2. HOPE depends on knowing what the Rest is and entering it. (The Glory of God)
2 Thessalonians 2:16 - May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good HOPE.
3. HOPE depends on the Spirit Filled life.
Romans 15:13 - 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.
1 Peter 1:13 - Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your HOPE on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
During this study I found one of those Scriptures that give sort of a breakdown or formulaic step by step guide to how HOPE gets birthed. In this Scripture, it’s through struggles. (storms, trials, challenges, hardships, sufferings, etc.)
Romans 5:3-5 - Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, HOPE. 5 And HOPE does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
I think it’s interesting in this Scripture that HOPE is being referred to as the result, not the beginning of enduring hardship.
Often, we think that HOPE must come before hardships, but HOPE, sometimes, is a part of character, which is a part of perseverance, and perseverance from suffering. So, what I get is that, sometimes, HOPE really is witness to God’s presence in times of struggle. HOPE is not just a feeling. HOPE is a “knowing” in that sense.
Romans 8:24-25 - For in this HOPE we were saved. But HOPE that is seen is no HOPE at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we HOPE for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
HOPE comes as a result of tiresome challenges, HOPE goes beyond our character. HOPE is only found in one place because people fail us, and the truth is, everything and everyone will fail us except for the Father.
A final word on HOPE
Any place in your life where you’re not experiencing hope, is under the influence of a lie.
How cool is that? For example, if you don’t have hope in your finances, you’re under the influence of a lie there. If you don’t have hope in your relationships, you’re under the influence of a lie in that area. If you don’t have hope in your personal life for victory, you’re under the influence of a lie concerning victory. If there’s a place in your life that you’re struggling with and you’re thinking, “Oh, this will never change!, This will never be better!, I’ve had this stronghold for 20 years!”, ANY place that you’re not experiencing hope is under the influence of a lie.
Check out this Scripture. 1 Corinthians 13:13 - And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. As I read that very familiar Scripture over and over again, I realized something. Because the Word says that “the greatest of these is love”, it occurred to me that most of the time we just focus on love. Now, don’t get me wrong here. I’m NOT saying that’s bad! Faith is so important because without it, it’s impossible to please God. So, as a result, we tend to focus on faith and love while hope sort of becomes the overlooked stepchild! HOPE becomes the middle kid of the virtues! lol!
HOPE is essential for our lives. We have to have HOPE. I was poking around on the internet and found some cool stuff in preparation for this word study. I found that U.S. Army doctors have identified a syndrome in P.O.W.’s from both the Korean war and the Vietnam war, they call it, “Give-up-itis”. I know. Cheesy, but it makes a lot of sense. They found that young men, when captured and subjected to terrible conditions over a period of time, if they let go of HOPE, they would just begin to wither and die.
Major F. J. Harold Kushner was a prisoner of the Vietcong for 5 years. He was a 24 year old Marine who was promised that if he would cooperate with his captors that they would release him. So, he became a model prisoner. He even took over their thought reform program and helped the other prisoners. He did everything they asked him to do, until it dawned on Major Kushner that the commander of the P.O.W. camp had lied to him and he wasn’t going to release him. When the Major realized that, he lost HOPE. He wouldn’t receive any encouragement from anyone, he stopped eating, and eventually just laid on his cot sucking his thumb day after day. In 2 weeks from that moment, he died. We’re not designed to live without hope. Romans 15:13 gives a great picture of how God is desiring to pour HOPE into our lives.
Romans 15:13 - 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.
God’s not after a little trickle of HOPE into our lives, He wants an OVERFLOWING of HOPE in our lives! That Scripture talks about how we have “…received God’s ABUNDANT PROVISION OF GRACE and of the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS…”, God doesn’t do stuff just a little, He’s not chincy! It’s an OVERFLOWING of hope, it’s an ABUNDANCE of grace!
So, how would I define HOPE?
HOPE is the confident expectation that God is willing and able to fulfill his promises.
I want to list 3 things that sort of look like HOPE but really aren’t HOPE. I’m listing these because I feel we, as Christians, use HOPE sometimes in an inappropriate way.
1. HOPE is not wishful thinking.
Thinking on things that you have no control over, but you sort of “HOPE” that your wishful thinking will make a difference. I mean, I watched a UFC fight once with this kind of “wishful thinking”. There are still people out there that think UFC fighter Phil Baroni will come out of retirement and compete again some day soon. That’s wishful thinking. It’s not really HOPE.
2. HOPE is not blind optimism.
Some people are just pessimists. No matter what happens, they can put a doom and gloom spin on it. They can find the dark cloud on any silver lining you can point out. Then, other people are just blindly optimistic. Here’s a story. A couple had 2 boys. One was a total pessimist. The other was a total optimist. So, the parents are concerned about their boys and they’re like, “We gotta do something to balance these kids out.” So, one Christmas they filled the pessimist’s room with every toy they could think of and told the boy to go to his room and 2 hours later, he comes out and the parent’s said to him, “Son, did you have fun playing with your toys?” The son said, “No. I didn’t open any of them because I was afraid I’d break them if I played with them.” They filled the optimist’s room with horse manure and sent him to his room. 2 hours later, he comes out covered in horse manure, but he’s grinning from ear to ear. “Son! What are you doing?! What’s the deal?!” The son said, “Well, I knew that if I dug long enough, I’d eventually find a pony in there!” I wish I cold take credit for that joke. So, HOPE is not wishful thinking and it’s not blind optimism.
3. HOPE is not hopeful dreams.
Sometimes we have dreams and we may even set a plan to begin to bring those dreams into fruition, but the problem with that is we’re restricted by our own limitations and factors that are out of our control. For example, I want to be a millionaire by the time I’m 35 years old. Well, at 43, that’s going to be a bit difficult.
God’s pattern is to bring the light into the darkness. If we go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, we see Adam and Eve walking in the cool of the day with God. The snake comes, deceives Eve, she eats the fruit, gives it to Adam, he eats the fruit, and the first game of Hide n’ Seek begins. God comes walking in the garden. “Adam, where are you?” Adam says, “I knew I was naked, so I hid.” Then God speaks to the snake and says, Genesis 3:14-15 - Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Adam and Eve had known nothing but the presence of God all their lives and now, suddenly, they’re cut off from that presence. They’re kicked out of the garden and an angel with a flaming sword is set there to keep them from coming back and eating of the tree of life. If you want to talk about darkness and despair, they’re experiencing it and yet, into that darkness, God speaks light, He speaks His promise. “I’m going to put enmity between you and the woman, your seed and hers. He’s gonna crush your head!” The first prophetic word, hinting at the coming of Jesus. Light into darkness. In Romans 15-4 it says that “…everything in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures, and the encouragement they provide, we might have HOPE.” So, we can learn from the things that other people have experienced that are written in the Scriptures.
I did some research on the history of Israel. I feel it relates to HOPE. Bear with me a minute. The high point of the nation of Israel was during the reign of King David and his son Solomon. I mean, Israel was the nation to be during that time. But Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, got stupid and he took wives who led his heart away from the Lord to other gods. As a result, after Solomon died, the nation of Israel split into 2 parts.
The 10 northern tribes were called Israel and the 2 southern tribes was called Judah. The 10 northern tribes never had a Godly king. Their kings always led them into idolatry and worshiping other gods. The 2 tribes to the south had a mixture. They had some Godly kings, God would send revival, people would come back to true faith in Him, and they would also have jerks that would lead them into idolatry and worshiping other gods.
Then, the Assyrians came and conquered the 10 northern tribes. In those days, when one nation conquered another nation, there were no rules. You were either the conqueror and the conquered. If you were the conquered, there was nothing you could do about anything the conquerors did to you. No rules. No Geneva convention, nothing. So, the conquerors routinely raped the women and killed the children. They were known for ripping the bellies of pregnant women to kill them and their child. This was brutal, brutal times. The final thing that they would do is take the people and put them in what was called a “death march”. They would march them out of their country to another country that they had conquered and the strategy behind this was if they would take them away from their own land, they wouldn’t know the country, so they wouldn’t know where they could hide, they’d be demoralized and they wouldn’t revolt. So, that’s what would happen. Those 10 tribes of Israel were scattered to other nations that were now in the Assyrian empire and we have no clue where they are today. Judah, because they had “some” Godly kings that would encourage them from time to time, they lasted probably a couple of hundred years more. Eventually, their sins brought judgment on them and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came and carried them away into captivity.
Hang in there. I’m almost done. At that time, there was a prophet named Jeremiah who had been prophesying, from when he was a young guy, to the people of Israel calling people back to their relationship with God; calling them to repent of their sins, telling them that if they don’t repent, judgment is gonna come. “It’s gonna be bad, you guys better repent!” All his life, they had laughed at him, ridiculed him, and paid no attention to him. Then, judgment came and King Nebuchadnezzar himself came to Jerusalem and then King Jehoiachin surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar. So, they marched the people of Jerusalem all the way to Babylon. It was a death march. I wonder how many people died just along the way to Babylon. When people got carried away into exile that way, the nation ceased to exist. That’s what happened to all the nations around Israel! They were absorbed into the culture of the country that they were taken to. When was the last time you took your family out for a home-cooked Hittite meal? Just try and take someone on a date to go see the 3 Edomite Tenors in concert. The reason you can’t is because those nations simply ceased to exist! Everything about them ceased to exist.
So, that’s the kind of darkness that God’s people, Israel, faced when Nebuchadnezzar took them out of Israel to Babylon. In that context, Jeremiah writes them a letter. Now, if it were me, I know the letter I would have written. It would have been a very short letter. I would have written something like, “Dear Israel, I told you so! Respectfully, Jeremiah” God forgive me. But Jeremiah didn’t do that. Jeremiah wrote them a letter of hope. Jeremiah 29 is that letter. I’m not going to go through the whole chapter, but I do want to pull some things out of it. Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future.” Then, in Jeremiah 31:17, He says, "So there is hope for your descendants,” declares the Lord.”Your children will return to their own land. Into the darkness. They had watched their friends and neighbors die. Some of starvation, some of them killed and some ate their own children, some killed by the Babylonians, some tortured to death. They watched their friends be raped and murdered and they faced the very real possibility that their nation had ceased to exist as a nation. Into that kind of darkness comes the light of these kinds of prophetic words from the Lord through Jeremiah.
70 years later, God moves on the heart of a pagan king, Cyrus, to send a remnant. Like 43,000 people. There had been millions. But, anyway, 43,000 come back out of exile to Jerusalem to begin to rebuild the city. To His people facing national extinction, His words brings light and hope. To His people who are looking for their Messiah to come, the prophets speak.
Look at Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel.
Look at Micah 5:2 - But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
See the pattern?
God speaks His words of light into darkness. To bring hope into despair. You can see it in Eden, you can see it in the time of exile, you can see it when His people are looking for the Messiah. I’m being a bit sarcastic here, but, do you think it’s possible He would want to do the same for us? Any area of our lives where there seems to be no HOPE, is under the influence of a lie; that is, until the Word of God comes. The Truth of God comes to displace and destroy the lies and bring hope. The prophets spoke to His people that were looking for the Messiah about the coming of Jesus. WHY would we think that He would have prophets that spoke 2-3,000 years ago and NOT have them speaking to us today? In fact, today, it’s not only that there are prophets who speak words of hope to the people of God, but, God’s plan is that He had given His Holy Spirit to everyone who has put their faith in Him and the Scriptures say that we all can prophesize. We all can speak and encourage and comfort.
1 Corinthians 14:3 - But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
That word, “encouraging”, honestly, I feel is not a big enough word for what the Holy Spirit wants to say to us today. I had a feeling there was more to it than what that word was translated to. So, I looked it up. The Greek word for “encouraging” is parakaleo, which literally means “to call alongside.” It’s used to describe the Holy Spirit when Jesus calls Him: the Comforter.
That’s the problem when stuff gets translated from one language to another. The words really lose meaning when it gets to English. The words aren’t really the same. They’re not congruent. The word parakaleo. It means “to call alongside” or “to call to one’s side” or “to call to one’s aid”. So, the idea of it is that when someone prophesizes, they speak words that bring aid or courage to a person to insure that they step into their destiny. It’s something associated to your future. It’s calling you. Its words that bring light so that you have HOPE! It calls you into the future! It calls you into your destiny!
Strength > the call into your destiny > and then the word “comfort”. Comfort is “helping you process the trials that you’ve already been through”. The stuff you’ve already gone through that beat you up, you need comfort for those things. So, the prophetic word comes, God anoints us to prophesize so we can strengthen people, to call them into their destiny, and to help them process the mess that they’ve been through in the past!
We have hope because, in Christ, our past has been absolved! There are so many people who feel like, “Oh, there can’t be anything good for me in the future because of all the bad things I’ve done! I’m not worthy! I’m not good enough! All the bad stuff I’ve done!” It’s like this “Karma” thing. It’s like people are thinking, “I’ve done all this bad stuff, so now all this bad stuff has to happen to me.” But, in Christ, OUR PAST IS ABSOLVED!! WE ARE FORGIVEN!! IT’S WASHED AWAY!! HALLELUJAH!! The thing most with people is that they have a hard time really believing that God is good enough and loves them enough to just wash that mess off of them. So, they allow guilt and condemnation to weigh them down and, as a result, they lose HOPE because they now focus on the past.
We have HOPE because our future is assured. HOPE is the confident expectation that God is willing and able to fulfill his promises. God keeps His promises and He has an amazing way, when we yield our lives to Him, of changing us and helping us know that our future is assured. 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Let’s start speaking words of HOPE into the dark areas of people’s lives!