The hope that we have in God is based completely on the wonderful promises that He has made us through His written Word which is truth (John 17:17). These promises are exactly what encourage us, sustain us, renew our faith, help us, carry us, and motivate us to persevere in every situation irrespective of what the circumstances are. God warns us sternly to persevere up to the end; by the way, only those who persevere to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13, Revelation 3:21).
To put it differently, only those who persevere to the end will be victorious over the world, Satan, the flesh, and sin. Our perseverance to God is based solely on our own willingness to submit ourselves fully to Him continuously, so that He can carry us through this life, which is loaded with all types of problems.
Having a Firm Certainty of Hope
Most importantly, the greatest promise that God could have ever made us is that one day we will get to spend our eternity with Him. This will be the the final stage every believer will go through which is known as glorification (1 John 2:25, Titus 1:2). This is in fact our greatest hope.
When we talk about hope in our human language, it implies when the future is not that certain. For instance, we may say that we hope everything goes well, we hope this initiative being implemented works. However, there is no guarantee at all that what we hope for will eventually happen. The type of hope found in the Word of God far exceeds any type of human hope that we could have ever had or dreamed of.
The hope found in Scripture is guaranteed at 100 percent; therefore, there is no room for error. Moreover, the word hope in the Bible is to have a “Certainty of Hope”. If you have been a Christian for a while, one thing that is quite noticeable throughout the Word of God is the amount of emphasis that God Himself has placed on the importance and reliability of His Word.
Because the promises are both true and certain, they deserve our complete trust, hope, reliance, and faith. Goes does not speak in vain as we often do as human, He is not like us who constantly change our mind after promising something (Numbers 23:19). When He says something, He means it, and He also proves Himself faithful to His Word on an ongoing basis. We can find great comfort in knowing that God always keeps His Word. Let’s take a closer look at that Scripture verse below.
Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” (Jeremiah 1:12)
One thing that really sets the Word of God apart is that God is actively ensuring that everything promised in it actually comes to pass. He can’t promise anything without having a plan beforehand to make it becoming a reality. God is the source of all truth; He is truth by nature, which means that everything that comes from Him must reflect who He really is. Additionally, His promises are yes and amen; and his Word and promises have never failed either (2 Corinthians 1:20, Joshua 21:45).
God Wants us to be Patient.
In this following passage of Scripture found in (Romans 8:25), God also tells us that when we are waiting for something, we should do so patiently. Patience is a virtue and is something that we really need as believer in Christ when waiting upon God to fulfill His promises into our lives. Life may be going to an unexpected or unanticipated direction, and we may start losing hope as a result. The issues of life may be tossing us in every direction, and our faith may start wavering because God does not move when we expect Him to do so; however, we are required to keep on waiting upon Him patiently. The truth of the matter is that we can never go wrong by waiting on God.
Keep that in mind, God is living outside of time, which means that the exact time we urgently need Him to intervene into our situations may not be the right time for Him to do so. One day is like 1000 years for God, 1000 years is like one day (2 Peter 3:8). Our patience is critical if we do not want to blow things up by trying our own alternatives due to desperation and frustration.
The kind of hope we have can only be found in Christ alone. He is the way, the truth, the life, and the One who can grant us access to whatever God has promised. If He is the very embodiment of everything that matters to us, without Him our lives would be a complete disaster.
On the other hand, it’s quite obvious that there are many people in this world who are completely blinded by their tremendous amounts of wealth, fame, human prestige, and success that often give them a false sense of hope. However, everything they have is bound to this world and have absolutely no bearing on God’s Kingdom as well as their eternity.
Consequently, if they don’t step out of that false hope in order to accept Christ as their Savior everything they have will serve them utterly no purpose. Just as Christ Himself says in that Scripture found in (Matthew 16:26), “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”
Our Hope in God is Like an Anchor.
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:19-20)
Why do our soul need an anchor? We need an anchor because of a huge gaping hole that exists in our soul, which can only be only filled by Christ, not sinful pleasures, wealth, fame, or anything pertains to this world. That gaping hole is eternal. Consequently, it’s there due to the fact that men are disconnected with God because of sin. Furthermore, the Bible is quite clear that men are both alienated and separated from God because of their sins. God made us so that we can depend on Him, have an intimate relationship with Him, to serve Him, and do His will. Since that hole is eternal; thus, it has to be filled by an eternal being who is the creator.
For that reason, men have to be connected with God who is the source of life through Christ, so that they can enjoy the type of life that God desires them to enjoy. We desperately need that steadfast anchor to hold us steady in the midst of our trials and tribulations. What defines our hope in God is the firm assurance that we have in Him through our total reliance on His Word, and He promises us that He will never leave us, nor forsake us.