Confident in Our Hope

When we hear the word “hope” used in our world, it tends to carry with it the idea of wanting something to happen, or that there is the possibility it might or will happen, yet with an amount of uncertainty that it will occur.  This definition spills over into how many in the world view the Bible when they see the word “hope.”  Yet, we must be careful not to equate our modern definitions to that of the first century world.  Looking to the Greek meaning of the word, it carries with it the idea of “assurance, expectation, and confidence.”

The book of Hebrews gives us assurance that the hope we have is something which will one day be reality.  Take note of how chapter 6:17-19 expresses the Christians hope in Jesus:  “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability (unchanging – DS) of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast . . .”

What God Almighty says doesn’t change.  The hope we have in Jesus is something that is sure, it is steadfast, it is something we can bank on that will come to pass.  May we, therefore, be confident in the hope of salvation we have in Christ, assured that one day we will have a home in heaven if we stay faithful and true to Him.  As the apostle Paul exhorted the saints in Colossae and continues to exhort today, “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard” (Colossians 1:23).