- This is the second in a four-part anniversary series of “Your Hope-Filled Perspective.”
- Specifically, today we are discussing the concept of “Hope.” What is hope, how do we get it and how do we display it? And what isn’t it?
- The Bible has two uses for the term HOPE
- One is simple but ungrounded expectation that something specific may happen—closest to English vernacular understanding.
- Second is a CONFIDENCE that something anticipated will come to pass.
- What is the difference between FAITH and HOPE?
- The Bible talks about both, and sometimes the same word is used. The concepts are very closely related.
- Best illustration: a child is told by her parents that they will be taking her to DisneyWorld soon.
- FAITH is the quiet confidence that her parents are being truthful and that the promised visit will happen.
- HOPE is the excited expectancy of the promised visit that has the child bouncing off the walls.
- FAITH is the basis for HOPE.
- What are the characteristics of HOPE?
- Forward looking
- Expectant/anticipatory of something longed for
- Focused on sufficiency and abundance
- HOPE is ACTIVE, it requires PREPARATION. Think of the Disney example. As the child ANTICIPATES, she will engage in various activities that illustrate this expectancy.
- In our culture and language, HOPE is understood in a very passive context—we don’t grant it much power in our lives, yet both the NT and the OT point to HOPE as crucial to our daily existence.
- HOPE is closely paralleled to FEAR
- Forward looking
- Expectant—of something dreaded
- Negative instead of positive
- Based on anxiety or worry instead of faith
- Focused on inadequacy & loss
For more on what hope is and how we find it, visit: Finding Hope
Watch on YouTube:
Quotables from the Episode:
- 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 for a future and a hope.”
- David in Psalms linked his HOPE in God with courage and strength (Psalm 31:24)
- Paul also (Romans 5:5) describes the abundance and fulfilling nature of HOPE.
Recommended Resources: (If there are affiliate links in this post, meaning, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no extra cost to you)).
- Free Download: How To Fight Fearful/Anxious Thoughts and Win
- Award-Winning Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises by Dr. Michelle Bengtson
- Breaking Anxiety’s Grip Free Study Guide
- Free 7-Day YouVersion Bible Reading Plan for Breaking Anxiety’s Grip
- Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award
- Hope Prevails Bible Study by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award
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