What is Hope?

Maybe before talking about what hope is, I should ask, “what is faith?” The Hebrew writer says this in 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (ESV).“

Now back to hope. I recall back in college, one of my Bible professors pointing out that our use of the word “hope” is completely different from the way people used it long ago.

For example, if you were to go by a lottery ticket and think to yourself, “I really hope I win,” you probably don’t expect to win. When people such as the apostle Paul used the word “hope”, they used it with a sense of expectancy. Having hope in God, was not a matter of “it might happen,” but rather it was a matter of “let’s make plans because we know God is going to live up to his promises.”

Hoping in something should not be equated with having good luck. Hoping in God is more than that and that is what leads to faith.

Please…comment.