What is Hope in God’s Promises?

Hope begins when you have faith in something that you want to happen. True hope begins in God’s promises. What is Hope in God’s Promises?

What promise of God gives me hope?

John 3:16 NIV “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Hope needs a place to begin. Here it is:

• For God so loved the world. That means you and I, everyone. God’s heart is so full that He did what?
• He gave His one and only Son. He sacrificed something of value to Him.
• What do we need to do? Just accept His gift.
• What is our hope? Eternal life with God.

This is God’s promise to us and it creates hope in our heart. What better place to begin?

Some questions for discussion:

• What Does God Promise About Hope?
• How Does Hope Relate to Trust in God’s Promises?
• What Happens When We Put Our Hope in God?
• How Can Hope Transform Us?
• How Do We Receive God’s Hope?

What Does God Promise About Hope?

Lamentations 3:21-23 NIV “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Background:

This is Jeremiah speaking as He sits in a cave overlooking Jerusalem. He is lamenting about what he sees and his heart is heavy. There is destruction everywhere, a city that once was thriving and vital. Jeremiah is depressed but he has learned how to handle the situation. Blue Letter Bible

“Yet this I call to mind“. What does he remember? How God has helped him before. He looks up and recalls how much love and compassion is within God’s heart. It’s new every morning. Great is God’s faithfulness.

What does he then say? Therefore, I have hope. God is prepared to give hope to those He loves. All is needed is to ask.

How Does Hope Relate to Trust in God’s Promises?

Romans 15:13 NIV “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.”

• Who is the giver of hope? God
• What does He fill us with? Joy and peace.
• Why? Because we trust in Him.
• The result? We have more hope than we will ever need which comes from the Holy Spirit within us.

When we are depending on the Lord, we are filled with His hope. It will only diminish when we allow our thoughts and worldly influence to discourage us.

How are trust and hope related? Without trust there is not any hope. Our hope in the Lord comes from our trust in what He did for us on the cross.

What Happens When We Put Our Hope in God?

Psalm 33:20-22 NIV “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”

• He strengthens our hope.
• He helps and protects us.
• Our heart rejoices.
• His love is unfailing

Our hope in the Lord means we are trusting Him. As we trust, we gain many blessings from our Father.

How Can Hope Transform Us?

John 3:3 NIV “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.“

In this passage, Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who has come to him secretly. Jesus gave him the way to be saved.

“Jesus’ reply to Nicodemus’s opening statement was cryptic and abrupt. He informed Nicodemus that no one could even see the kingdom of God without a spiritual rebirth. Birth is our mode of entrance into the world. To be “born again ” (or “born from above,” the preferable translation; see NIV note) means the transformation of a person so that he or she is able to enter another world and adapt to its conditions. To belong to the heavenly kingdom, one must be born into it.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament

Having hope in God is accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. The moment of doing this, you are transformed into new birth. It is through this new birth, we are able to live in the will of God and be in His kingdom.

How Do We Receive God’s Hope?

1 Peter 1:18-21 NIV “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.“

God provided a way for man to fellowship with Him. The way had to be perfect, without blemish. That way is Jesus Christ who suffered in our place, for our sin. He didn’t stay dead because He is the Son of God. It is through Him we have eternal life and this is our hope.

Conclusion

There are so many wonderful promises in God’s Word we can go to and encourage our hope. Here is one I love to claim.

Isaiah 40:31 NIV “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Reading this verse makes it seem so easy. Why do we make it so hard? All that is needed is to ask for His strength to overcome our problems.

Sometimes it’s our pride, other times its lack of belief. We become stagnant and follow the ways of the world. This creates a void in our life. Let’s make a habit of staying close to Him and receive all the benefits of His promises.