Happy New Year!
Today we finish our short lesson on Hope.
Hope comes when we find our salvation in Jesus, when we call on him, when we come to him, and pray in his name. When these things happen we will have the hope that we seek.
Peter began his letters with a blessing to all believers:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. — 1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
The book of Romans explains the blessing that Peter offers:
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. — Romans 5:2-5 (NIV).
By reading these two passages together, we gain a clear understanding of hope. Hope begins when we are born again through Jesus Christ. Hope is developed, and strengthened, when we stand in God’s grace.
Our earthly desire is to avoid trials and struggles. Indeed, we tend to measure the quality of our salvation by our lack of problems. Yet, hope not is measured by the lack of trials, but by what learn about Jesus when we walk through the trials. Suffering produces endurance, endurance shapes our character, and the knowledge that Jesus has successfully led us through trials before, gives us the confidence that he will see us through the next one. This confidence in God’s provision is the kind of hope which does not lead to disappointment.
This understanding helps 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 make even more sense:
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction, is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Bible Verses About Hope
Here are a few other Bible verses on hope that we can cling to in times of stress or when we need comfort from the Scriptures:
Romans 8:24-25 (NIV)
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Romans 12:12 (NIV)
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 15:4 (NIV)
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:13 (NIV)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Hebrews 11:1 (The Voice)
Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen.
Titus 1:1-2 (NIV)
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.
Proverbs 24:14 (NIV)
Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
Psalm 10:17 (NLT)
LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
Warnings for Believers through Bible Verses About Hope
As we study these Bible verses about hope, it is essential that we keep Christ as the source of our hope. It is so easy to shift our focus onto other things. With that thought come these warnings:
Ephesians 2:12 (NIV)
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 Thessalonians 4:13 (NIV)
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.
1 Timothy 6:17 (The Voice)
Here’s what you say to those wealthy in regard to this age: “Don’t become high and mighty or place all your hope on a gamble for riches; instead, fix your hope on God, the One who richly provides everything for our enjoyment.”
Proverbs 24:14 (NIV)
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.
I pray that your light of Hope will not grow dim, but grow in brightness in light of our Lord.
Pastor John