Are you tempted to give up? Have you lost hope? The days seem more uncertain than ever and there is much for people to feel anxious about. But even in today’s uncertainties, hope is not only available to you… it is necessary. In heaven hope is present everywhere. Every saint, angel… all of God’s creation, is full of hope—the God-kind of hope. In this fallen world we all need an anchor of hope.

The Bible says, “Three things remain, faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love.” Notice these three eternal forces. You cannot have one without the others as they work in coordinated effort to accomplish God’s will. Hope is the seed of faith. And love is the motivation for hope and faith. Without God’s love first, we would not know love. Without His Son, Jesus, we would have no reason to hope, or the faith to believe.

If you have a lack of hope, you’ll find that you’re vulnerable to becoming extra anxious. When there is no hope, worry can grow into either paralyzing fear, or into desperate, self-managed and greedy control. When this happens, you end up thinking about yourself—worrying about your future, thinking about your problems, and becoming anxious about your life. When worry sets in, it chokes out love, and keeps us looking inward and away from being a channel for God’s blessings. Worry robs us of joy… and the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

There’s a reason God instructs His children not to worry. He understands all that we lose, if we worry. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

So, in colloquial terms, this scripture is saying: Make the choice not to worry about anything. Instead, ask God to help, and tell Him your concerns. And thank Him for answering, even before you see the answer. If you genuinely do this, you will experience God’s supernatural peace—which is greater than you can understand. This peace of God will guard your heart and help keep your thoughts focused on your hope in Jesus.

In times like the days we are living through, everyone desires to have peace. But hope is required for peace to exist. And hope must be based upon a firm foundation—not wishful thinking. God has provided us that foundation in Jesus.

Let’s look at the difference between the world’s definition of “hope” and God’s. The world’s English dictionary defines hope as: a feeling of expectation and desire for or wanting a certain thing to happen. Or… a feeling of trust.

Isn’t it interesting that these definitions from the world describe emotions as the foundation for hope? There is nothing of substance in this type of hope. Neither faith nor confidence are not even hinted at.

In addition, the word “hope” in ordinary English vocabulary is generally distinguished from certainty. This means you may want something to happen, you may desire something to be true, but you don’t know with certainty what’s going to happen.

Now let’s look at God’s definition of Hope. In scripture, according to the Hebrew and Greek words translated as the word “hope,” and according to the biblical usage …“hope” is an indication of certainty. Hope in Scripture, means “a strong and confident expectation.” What a great difference there is between the world’s idea of hope and God’s.

When we have hope as described in the Bible, we’ve placed our trust in Someone more powerful than we are, Someone more trustworthy, and Someone who loves us profoundly. We’ve placed our trust on something that cannot fail. Consider how a small child trusts their loving parent — someone who protects and cares for them. If the child is afraid or worried, and the loving parent says, “It’s going to be okay,” the child rests in that assurance and let’s go of worry. That is a worldly illustration of the God-kind of hope and how God desires us to place our hope in Him and His word.

Christian hope is a powerful force that is cultivated under pressure. God places value on tribulation because He understands that in this fallen world, trials and tribulation produce eternal qualities of great worth.

Hope is a portion, or, the first part of faith. Hope and Faith, are overlapping realities, relying on each other. Hope is faith in the future tense. So the foundation of faith is first… hope. Our prayers, our goals, our godly desires all begin with hope. Hope is a seed of trust that is based in the truth and faithfulness of God and His Word.

God teaches that if we have hope that something is going to happen and put trust in that promise, faith then carries us across the finish line to the manifestation. Christian hope is a confidence that something God has promised will come to pass, and God is faithful.

The Bible says in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” This implies that hope, like faith, is also strengthened by the word of God. Hope comes from reading His precious and great promises while looking to Christ who purchased them.

I would sum it up like this: One of the most, if not the most important verse in the Bible, is probably Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?”

Now, that scripture is “hope” producing! But it’s grounded in the rock-solid statement that “God didn’t spare his own son.” He loves us that much.

Romans 8:28 remind us. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” This is a solid promise that we can have hope in, even during uncertain times.

So let’s look away from the circumstances that confront us, look to Christ who redeemed us, look to the promises, and hold fast to them. Hope comes from the promises of God rooted in the work of Christ—birthed out of God’s love for you and me. Aren’t we blessed?

Let’s look at some scriptures where the word HOPE is used to get a better perspective of godly hope.

1 Peter 1:13 tells us… where to place our hope. “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.This verse expresses a new kind of hope that comes to us from Heaven when we recognize and accept Jesus as the Messiah and accept Him as our Savior.

Romans 14:13 tells us… where our hope originates from and how it’s powered. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Only the Holy Spirit gives us access to God’s overcoming kind of hope that is certain. And notice that joy and peace—fruits of the Spirit are evident where there is hope.

1 Corinthians 13:13 describes hope as eternal, and needed to have God’s love. “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” In this scripture, we learn that faith, hope and love are connected. All three are eternal. And to experience power in any one of these, we must have all three parts working together.

Romans 5:3-4 reveals… how hope is developed. “…we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” It is not necessarily to our benefit to look for the easiest way through… but to look for God’s way through.

In summary, Christian hope is hope based on a firm foundation of God and His Word, through our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the confident affirmation that God is faithful, that He will complete what He has begun. It is also therefore, that confident expectation which waits patiently… unwaveringly, for God’s purposes to be fulfilled. The Christian hope is not wishful thinking—but hope for a certainty.

With God nothing is impossible!

Dale & Paula

 

Learn more about The Heaven 2021 Project and help win souls through this ministry outreach. This project provides a powerful way to add fruit to your eternal account by helping us share the gospel of Jesus Christ with so many.

The HEAVEN 2021 PROJECT
People need hope, and In these last days, people are searching for real answers to life, a purpose that satisfies, and security in their eternal destination. There has never been a better environment in the United States and the world then right now to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. People need hope. It truly IS harvest time!

OPERATION HUMBLE HEARTS
Join us in Prayer & Fasting, Mondays at 12:00 noon Pacific Time every week. To learn more, go to: Humble Heart: Prayer & Fasting at DaleBlack.org. Please email and let us know you are joining this powerful group of intercessors.

 

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PARTNERSHIP
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What Others Are Saying:

  “Thank you for your courage to do what you are doing!! Please keep the TRUTH coming!” Eric – Canada
  “Dale, I started following your ministry a number of years ago because we agree on so many things concerning: God’s Word, faith, and Christian living. You and I are truly brothers in Christ. Today’s message, Deep State Rising, is a confirmation to me as I walk down the same path. I pay very little attention to the MSM and look in other places to find the truth. Don’t stop what your doing – you’ve truly been a light for Jesus. Lou – WA
   “Thank you for getting the Truth out. Continue to pray that the church wakes up!” Patty – IN
   “Hi Dale-just wanted say how much I appreciated your teaching on hearing God’s voice today. It really reinforces my own experience and walk with the Lord and it was encouraging to hear the principles spelled out again. My prayer for you and Paula is that you continue to run with endurance (emphasis on the word endurance) the race God has mapped out for you in this ministry. Be encouraged! HE will do it! God bless.” Mike and Judy – Melbourne Australia
   “Thank you both so much for this glorious teaching from God’s Word. Using some of the very principles you just taught, God did a creative miracle in our Home Group last Wednesday; a color-blind woman received color-vision for the first time in her life! Praise the Lord!” Tim B.
   “Thank you and bless you for teaching 3-Steps to Hearing the Holy Spirit.” Georgia – UK
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a/k/a/ Dale Black Ministries
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