Hoping Against Hope

Anchored hopes never disappoint. 

Can you imagine life without hope? Hopefully not. Most of us would agree hope is essential to the human spirit.

Even so, hope can be tricky for me. By definition, it conjures up images of happy anticipation and expectation. But unfulfilled hope can crush the spirit. The Bible describes this reality:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
     but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:23 NIV)

When I bask in the joy of a hope fulfilled, I agree hope is good. But when my heart breaks with a dashed hope, I am not so sure. 

Last week I shared my love of sprinkling my home with lights. Their sparkles remind me of the hope I have in Jesus. Ultimately, I know hope is good. So how can I explain its disappointing side? 

I think the answer lies in understanding the difference between worldly and Biblical hope.

Worldly hope carries no guarantee. I can hope for normal (pre-COVID) life to return, but there is no assurance that it will.

Biblical hope does carry a guarantee, because it is based on a specific promise from God. We can be confident in this hope because God has an impeccable record for keeping His promises:

Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. (Joshua 21:25 NIV)

One of the best examples of this kind of hope can be found in the story of Abraham and Sarah. You can find the full story of the birth of their son Isaac in Genesis 12-21. But here is a recap:

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:18-22 NIV)

The idiom “to hope against all hope” originated from this Bible passage and means to hope without any logical reason or justification.

Abraham and Sarah waited twenty-five years for the fulfillment of God’s promise. At the time of Isaac’s birth, Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety. (Genesis 17:17; Genesis 21:1-5) 

Given their ages, Abraham and Sarah had every reason to not believe they would have a son. But God’s promise gave them a guarantee, allowing them to hold on to hope. 

As I write this, we continue to face the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic, civil unrest and a heated presidential election. Following Jesus never exempts us from problems. (John 16:33)

But while God never guaranteed a trouble-free life, He does make this promise:  

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV)

Not everything we experience will be good, but God promises to work everything out for our good. In this promise I find Biblical hope, one I can hold on to, no matter how hopeless the circumstances may seem. 

Wherever the road leads us next, I pray we can all anchor our hopes in the promises of God.