What Is Hope?

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Well then, what is hope? I cannot stay at rest for more than a couple of days. Everytime things are going well and dreams seem to be fulfilled … things just don’t happen and get worse. I feel like a cat on a string emotionally. Why does everything seem to be a test?

Q. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Well then, what is hope? I cannot stay at rest for more than a couple of days. Everytime things are going well and dreams seem to be fulfilled … things just don’t happen and get worse. I feel like a cat on a string emotionally. Why does everything seem to be a test?

A. As believers, our hope is not in the things of this world, which is ungodly and unfair. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

This means that because He overcame the world we can, too. Our faith in Him is the assurance that one day we’ll find ourselves in a better world. Accepting His death as payment for our sins gives us admission into it. This is what we hope for.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

Find some people to pray with you and for you and redirect your hopes toward the real world, the next one. When you do you’ll find that things will start to work better here too.