| Hope series |


* What Is Hope
* Why Did Paul Say YOLO?
* Hope in Heaven











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What is hope? How is hope different from faith? What are the benefits hope has to offer? Did you know that hope leads to joy and enables patience? I wouldn’t mind a little more joy and I know I could use a little more patience. As we kick off this new series on hope, let’s start with a solid foundation about hope.



Hope Is About the Future



Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:24-25



Let me start with a simple story. During advent this past Christmas, I sat my toddlers down to explain the concept of hope. I wanted them to really understand it, not just memorize a definition but be able to recognize it. I wanted them to experience hope and remember that experience. So, I started by telling them, “I’m going to give you ice cream”. I’m sure you can imagine the way a smile grew on each of their faces as they realized what I said. That is hope. Quite simply, hope is being excited about something that’s coming.



Don’t worry, I gave them the ice cream I promised; after all, I want them to know they can trust me when I say something. But let’s imagine for a minute that they didn’t trust me, that they didn’t believe me about the ice cream. Imagine if the first thought that crossed their mind after I promised ice cream was, “Suuuuuure, we’ve heard that before…”. Do you think their faces would have lit up in the same way? They wouldn’t have gotten excited because they didn’t believe it.



Hope Depends on Faith



May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.(Romans 15:13, emphasis added)



Hope is built on the foundation of faith. In a chapter on the faith of Abraham, Paul explained this about Abraham’s hope:



In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God,