Introduction
Hope is the confident expectation that something good is going to happen. It is closely related to our faith and what we believe. When we dare to hope, it floods our life with joy and peace. By its very nature, hope stresses two things: (a) futurity, and (b) invisibility. It deals with things we can’t see or haven’t received or both. “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. Romans 8:24-25. Biblically, from the standpoint of the object hoped for, hope is synonymous with salvation and its many blessings, past, present, and future, as promised in the Scripture. This is true, even with what we have already received as believers because these blessings come under the category of what we cannot see. We may see some of the results, but it still requires faith and hope. For example, we do not see the justifying work of God, the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to our account, neither do we see the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we are saved, nor our co-union with Christ. We believe this to be a reality, but this is a matter of our hope. We believe in the testimony of God in the Word and hope for the results in our lives.
In summary, hope is the confident expectation, the sure certainty that what God has promised in the Word is true, has occurred, and or will in accordance with God’s sure Word.
Benefits Of Having Hope:
• It gives us joy and peace:
Even in the midst of any crisis, hope brings undiluted joy and peace. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13.
• It gives us protection.
When we hope on the Lord and also put our faith in Him, He will surely protect us from any danger, troubles or crises we may find ourselves. See what is happening in the world today— kidnapping of people, COVID-19 Pandemic, ritualists everywhere, killing of innocent people, here and there, especially those Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram people and fraud, among others. But, “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His loving-kindness”. Psalm 33:18. Therefore, if we put our hope on Him as the passage says, He will keep His eye on us and protect us from all kinds of crises.
• It gives us strength, courage, boldness.
“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD” Psalm 31:24. Because the Lord does not give us the spirit of fear, so when we hope in Him, He strengthens and gives us the courage to face any form of crises.
• It gives us endurance, comfort, confidence in the face of death.
“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself restore, empower, strengthen, and established you”. I Peter 5:10. Hope in God gives us the grace to endure in time of crises and also face it, even if it leads to death, it gives us the confidence. Just as Jesus did on His way to the cross, He endured the pains and tribulation and also led Him to death. But during His crises, He trusted and hoped in God, which finally led to eternal joy.
(Bishop Isaac I. Oluyamo, PhD., JP, Is The Bishop Of Ijesa North Anglican Diocese)
