What is Hope?

Hope is a word we throw around a lot as believers, and non-believers for that matter. It becomes sort of a buzz word when overused, and that can be dangerous because that four-letter word holds so much power for humanity.

Hope, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary is: "to cherish a desire with anticipation

To find the true meaning and use of this word, we have to look to the original meaning, which is found in the Bible. The Biblical definition, though not conveniently coined into a tight phrase, is "the confident expectation of the future changes that God has promised, but that are not yet seen, which the Christian strongly desires and for which he eagerly awaits" (1. Hope from the Old Testament (Romans 15:1-13) | Bible.org). There are three translations of the word "hope" in the Bible, as many original languages have been used, but overall, the theme is seen 164 times in the Bible, making it a central theme to the whole cannon.

Hope is characterized by three things, when you break down the Biblical definition.

1. Confidently expecting to see God's promises

God is not a promise breaker, and he doesn't give empty words without intent. We as believers can EXPECT for the goodness of God's promises to come to fruition. We can eagerly and confidently expect that God has already delivered us through everything we will walk, and he has won the battle on the other side. The Christian walk can be characterized by hope, with confident anticipation in the future as we can rely on the consistency of the faithfulness of God.

2. Hope requires waiting

As the promises are not always seen immediately, hope does require an expectation of the future promises. This is often the trickiest part to the believer, as it does not give immediate gratification. Hope is the antithesis of our modern culture. We are given an idea in this life that by worldly standards we can get quick results. But, God doesn't work on quick results, he works on his timing. When we understand that true hope is found in trusting his timing and not rushing for quick results.

3. The believer is excited by hope.

The Christian counts it joy to have hope. Hope is something we GET to have, and shouldn't be used as a despairing or wasteful word. So often, we say "I hope they have my favorite snack in stock," or "I hope we make it on time." When we truly understand all that hope entails, we realize the waste that we are participating in when we degrade the word of hope.

Now, that's not to say we can never use it colloquially. Of course, there are times when hoping for a good day or outcome is appropriate, but we should be careful not to overuse that word. At Brandonshomes4hope, we want to be intentional about how we are dealing out hope. We know that some people are waiting expectantly, and we want to be a part of that story. We want to tangibly be the answer for someone's expectant waiting. If you know of anyone that can use our help, please let us know.