There’s a problem with the word “hope.” It’s not what you think, or how most of us tend to use it in our vocabulary. We say things like, “I hope you had a good weekend” or I hope I will make a good grade.” It’s also natural for us to cross our fingers and wish for the best. But these are not accurate examples of real hope. So, what is hope?
Well, for starters, hope is not unsure. On the contrary, hope is confidently expecting good outcomes. Why? Because, as Christians, Christ Jesus is our hope. Because of this, hope is more than enough.
Think about it this way: have you ever discovered money in your jacket pocket you had forgotten about? I love it when this happens! It’s like receiving an unexpected bonus. The funny part is, you had the money the whole time but just forgot about it. That’s kind of like our hope in Christ. As His children, we always have access to His life–an overflow of His life-sustaining, abundant blessings–but we often forget about it! Real hope is more than enough, but when we don’t know what Christ has given us, or haven’t applied it to our lives, we miss out on living empowered by Him.
For example, real hope is fully aware of God’s love. And when you know you have His love, you can grasp His grace, His forgiveness, His faithfulness, His friendship, His peace, His provision, and His very presence at work in you and around you. Understanding that God loves you completely and immensely fills you with unlimited hope. The opposite is true, too. When you aren’t relying on (or forget) the depths of God’s love for you, you will also find it challenging to accept the other aspects of the rich blessings He has provided for you. Where is the hope in this? It’s missing, isn’t it?
That brings us back to what hope really is. It’s not the worldly hope we speak of in everyday life—where we “hope” we get the job. With that type of hope, we’re uncertain of good outcomes. But, hope in Christ is sure and certain that God works in all things for good–because He is good. Hope is confidently knowing and relying on His limitless goodness and love.
And when we know the Object of our hope, hope is more than enough–even in the middle of hopeless circumstances.
Think back to that analogy of forgetting money in your pocket. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget we have access to hope. But if we have a relationship with Christ, we always have hope—because He is our hope. And Jesus is more than enough.
