Psalm 34:18-19
The Lord is nigh unto them tat are of a broken heart, and saveth such
as be the of contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but
the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
Today
is the first of a three part series on Biblical Hope that will be discussed from
(1) the definition of Biblical hope, (2) what is the basis of the believer's
hope, and (3) what are the content of believers' hope.
That
being said, the Bible defines hope as a firm confident in God about the future
(Romans 8:24-25), which is based on God's promises and He is faithful to His
promises. Biblical hope is looked upon as being linked inseparately with faith
(Romans 15:13; Hebrews 11:1) and a confidence in God as outlined in Psalm
33:21-22, which states, For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have
trusted in His holy name. Let thy mercy,
O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. What these verses are
saying to all is all believers' hope is found in God as He is the anchor for
believers as we live this life here on earth with an assurance that we will one
day live in eternity with Him.
That
said, let's look at the definition of hope as defined in the Student Bible
Dictionary (P. 115), which in a word coincide with the above definition by
stating, hope is a belief in God that He
will accomplish what He has promised. Christian hope is never wishful thinking,
but it is a divine certainty. Merriam-Webster School Dictionary (P. 422)
defines hope as trust, reliance such as in the Lord. It is a desire accompanied
by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.
We
can conclude, from the above definitions believers' hope is grounded in the
Lord and is assured based on His trustworthiness and faithfulness to His
promises. Biblical hope is an assurance of a future event, or an outcome; man's
hope is a desire for the future.
Biblical
hope is different from man's hope. Where is your hope?
Comments are welcome
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