To hope is to expect the fulfillment of a desire or wish. As humans, we need hope to help us deal with pain in the present and fear for the future. Worldwide poverty, hunger, disease, destruction, and everyday suffering create a longing for something better. Scripture tells us that those who do not have God do not have hope (Ephesians 2:12).

The modern world has often looked for hope in human effort, believing that with time, things would naturally get better and better. The wars of the twentieth-century challenged that optimism, and many have given up hope for a better future. Others continue to trust that humans will find solutions to the problems that they have created. But human history raises the question of whether this trust is well placed.

In discussions about hope, many thinkers and writers have attacked Christianity as a bad basis for hope. Early in the church’s history, theologians and priests often focused on the contrast between God’s kingdom and this world. Some Christians began to believe that it was pointless to try to create a better world here and now, since God’s kingdom was coming soon. This belief was widely criticized in the nineteenth century because it allowed some Christians to be cold and indifferent to human suffering. Prussian philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) claimed that Christianity made people cowards because it taught that whatever happened was God’s will, thus discouraging efforts to change the world. Karl Marx (1818-83) said that religion was the “opiate of the people,” a drug that numbed the poor and exploited them and kept them from fighting those who oppressed them.

Theologian Jürgen Moltmann is one of the writers who has attacked this kind of Christianity in his “theology of hope.” After the violence of World War II, many who had trusted in human progress felt that life was hopeless. Moltmann believes that the future gives us a reason for changing the present. When we think of God’s kingdom, Moltmann says, we should be inspired to work here and now to make that kingdom a reality, rather than abandoning the world because we know that a better place awaits us after death. The resurrection can bring hope to us in our suffering by inspiring us to fight that suffering. But Moltmann’s trust in human effort to change the future could lead some to think of the resurrection as a hopeful symbol or nice story, rather than as a historical reality, something that really happened. Also, too much emphasis on group social action to change the world could cause some to neglect their need to repent and follow Christ from the heart, and not just in their outward actions. But Moltmann has still helped many Christians to examine what the Bible says about hope.

Biblical hope is hope in what God will do in the future. At the heart of Christian hope is the resurrection of Jesus. Paul discussed the importance of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12-28). He said: “If we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world” (15:19, NLT). Thus, Christ’s resurrection not only shows Christ’s victory over death, but it also extends that victory to those who belong to him: “Christ was raised first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will be raised” (15:23). The apostle Peter said, “All honor to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again. Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3, NLT). In that passage, Peter says that the resurrection of Christ gives us living hope and points to God’s future blessing upon those who belong to Christ. That future hope gives Christians the power to live without despair through the struggle and suffering of the present (compare Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Christian hope is securely based upon the words and actions of God. God’s promises are dependable. The resurrection of Jesus becomes the ultimate basis for hope. Since God has already overcome death through Christ, the Christian can live with confidence in the present. No matter how dark the present age seems, the Christian has seen the light to come. People need to hope, and hope placed in the personal promise of God is secure. However, this secure hope has many consequences for the way we live in our present world. It frees us from having to live as if the material world, fame, money, reputation, and other aspects of life are the only things that exist, and frees us to live in a way that puts Christ first and others ahead of ourselves. Christian hope offers security for the future and loving involvement in sharing for the present.

WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF A BELIEVER’S HOPE?

BIBLE READING: Leviticus 26:1-46
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Despite all this, I will not utterly reject or despise them while they are in exile in the land of their enemies. I will not cancel my covenant with them by wiping them out. I, the LORD, am their God. (Leviticus 26:44)

A CHRISTIAN’S HOPE IS BASED ON GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

These verses show what God meant when he said he is slow to anger (Exodus 34:6). Even if the Israelites chose to disobey and were scattered among their enemies, God would still give them the opportunity to repent and return to him. His purpose was not to destroy them, but to help them grow. Our day-to-day experiences and hardships are sometimes overwhelming; unless we can see that God’s purpose is to bring about continual growth in us, we may despair. The hope we need is well expressed in Jeremiah 29:11-12: ” ’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ’They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.’ ” Retaining hope while we suffer shows we understand God’s merciful ways of relating to his people.

BIBLE READING: Mark 5:21-43
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” (Mark 5:36)

HOPE COMES FROM TRUSTING CHRIST

Jairus’s crisis made him feel confused, afraid, and without hope. Jesus’ words to Jairus in the midst of crisis speak to us as well: “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” In Jesus’ mind, there was both hope and promise. The next time you feel hopeless and afraid, look at your problem from Jesus’ point of view. He is the source of all hope and promise.

BIBLE READING: Romans 5:1-11
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. (Romans 5:1-2)

HOPE COMES FROM REMEMBERING ALL THAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US

As Paul states clearly in 1 Corinthians 13:13, faith, hope, and love are at the heart of the Christian life. Our relationship with God begins with faith, which helps us realize that we are delivered from our past by Christ’s death. Hope grows as we learn all that God has in mind for us; it gives us the promise of the future. And God’s love fills our life and gives us the ability to reach out to others.

HOPE GROWS AS WE DEPEND ON GOD IN THE DIFFICULT TIMES

For first-century Christians, suffering was the rule rather than the exception. Paul tells us that in the future we will become, but until then we must overcome. This means we will experience difficulties that help us grow. We rejoice in suffering not because we like pain or deny its tragedy, but because we know God is using life’s difficulties and Satan’s attacks to build our character. The problems that we run into will develop our perseverance-which in turn will strengthen our character, deepen our trust in God, and give us greater confidence about the future. You probably find your patience tested in some way every day. Thank God for those opportunities to grow, and deal with them in his strength (see also James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

BIBLE READING: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

HOPE GROWS AS WE REMEMBER THE PROMISE OF THE RESURRECTION

Because Jesus Christ came back to life, so will all believers. All Christians, including those living when Christ returns, will live with Christ forever. Therefore, we need not despair when loved ones die or world events take a tragic turn. God will turn our tragedies to triumphs, our poverty to riches, our pain to glory, and our defeat to victory. All believers throughout history will stand reunited in God’s very presence, safe and secure. As Paul comforted the Thessalonians with the promise of the Resurrection, so we should comfort and reassure each other with this great hope.

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