Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation
— Psalm 42:5
In Ephesians 1:18, the apostle Paul tells us that he is praying that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened, so that we may know the hope to which we have been called. I for one, love the fact that we have been called to hope. I see a lot of believers who live their lives as if they were called to despair. They worry, stress, fear and fret. But the spiritual reality we need to fix our eyes on is that we are called to hope.
The biblical definition of hope is different from the way we frequently use it. Typically, we talk about hope as if it’s a possibility that we wish for. We hope he will call. We hope we get that raise. We hope the Cowboys win. We speak of hope as if it’s nothing more than a wish that may or may not come to fruition. Scripture, however, defines hope differently. It speaks of hope as a confident expectation.
When the Psalmist wrote that we are to “hope in God,” he was not saying that we should just wish that God will come through. He was instead saying that we should live with an expectant sense of confidence that God is going to come through. We should be filled with hope that:
- We have been completely forgiven in Christ.
- We can not be separated from the love of God.
- God is for us.
- God will never leave us nor forsake us.
- Whatever our circumstances, God is going to work things our for our good and his glory.
- There is an eternal glory waiting for us.
- Christ is going to return for his bride, the Church.
As believers, we should be the most hope-filled people on the face of the planet. Hope should be the fuel that gets us out of bed in the morning, fills our hearts with overflowing joy and enables us to persevere through whatever might come our way.
As you go about your day today, remember that you have been called to hope.