One dictionary defines hope as this: “To wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment.”
Everybody needs hope. It helps to sustain us when our heart becomes overwhelmed. This is true for Christians and for unbelievers.
Functionally, Christian hope and worldly hope are the same. They both denote a positive expectation. Other than that, Christian hope and worldly hope are worlds apart.
Oftentimes, when unbelievers express hope, they lack a solid basis for their hope. Essentially, they are just wishing for the best. At best, the hope of the unbeliever is rooted in a fallible thing or person.
As for Christian hope, consider these words found in the book of Hebrews: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Hebrew 11:1, KJV). The word substance in this verse comes from the Greek word υπoστασις (hu-POS-ta-sis), meaning “that which underlies.” So, faith is what underlies the Christian hope or positive expectation.
Consider a tall building. The most vital component of its stability is something you often can’t see. That is the foundation upon which the building is built. The taller the building, the deeper the foundation must be.
The stronger the underlying foundation is, the more difficult it is for the forces of nature to bring down that building.
Similarly, our hope is powered by our faith because faith in God is what underlies our hope. The deeper our faith is, the more difficult it is for our hope to be overthrown and give way to despair.
How to Deepen Christian Hope
Faith and Christian hope go hand in hand because faith is the substance of things hoped for. That means we can fortify our hope by strengthening our faith in God. Show me a person who has deep faith in God, and I will show you a person who is filled with hope. No matter what his situation in life is, that person will always have a positive expectation of the outcome.
With God on our side, life is never hopeless. He knows how to make all things work together for our good. He can do “far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20, NASB).
But though life for Christians is never hopeless, it can seem hopeless at times. Christians are not immune to experiencing despair. Being a pastor, I know genuine believers who have found themselves in a place where there seemed to be no way out.
This can happen because trials can cause you to become weary in your mind. Moreover, during hardship, the devil is relentless in trying to cause you to abandon your hope in God. He wants you to believe God has forsaken you.
Notice what I said. The devil can’t take your hope from you. But through his attacks and deception, he can cause you to abandon your hope in God.
That’s why you need to constantly strengthen your hope. How do you do that? By cultivating your faith in God daily. The stronger your faith in God is, the more immovable your hope will be.
The Indispensability of Hope
The indispensability of hope lies in the fact that it sustains you during times of feeling overwhelmed in this life. Every one of us is subject to such times. Sometimes, your hope in God may be the only thing standing between you and giving up. Accordingly, the psalmist wrote, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13, NASB).