Real Hope: Beyond Wishful Thinking

Written by Sherri Bergmann

When people ponder on their new year ahead, they typically are hoping a lot of things will happen that will place them in a better position from where they stand now.

Several dictionaries define hope as:
1- A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
2- Want something to happen or be the case.
3- To want something to happen or to be true, and usually have a good reason to think that it might.
4- A feeling of desire for something and confidence in the possibility of its fulfillment.


In summary, these definitions describe hope as a feeling, a desire for something to happen – basically, wishful thinking, like “I hope it will rain today.”

It also can be a feeling of an expectation that could come true based on the strong possibility that it might, such as expecting it to rain because the weather channel predicts that it will. But weather predictions often have proven wrong. A woman can reasonably be expecting a baby, but she could have a miscarriage. A person can expect a promise to be fulfilled, but promises are often broken. Expectations are not guaranteed.    

However, the Bible describes hope differently. Hope in the Bible isn’t a feeling of desire for something to happen. Instead of hope being just an expectation – it instead is a strong conviction that something will happen. Not might happen, but absolutely will happen.

It’s more than wishful thinking, because wishful thinking doesn’t change anything. Hope does change things.

How Does Hope Change Things?

“Hope Has A Name”1 is a song that perfectly sums it up. Hope is in Christ. Hope is Christ. Every help we need and have is from Him.

Faith in God
Hope is also an action on our part – to have hope we must have faith. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 [emphasis mine]

We can’t see Jesus, but we know He’s there. We can’t see the future, but we know He’s there.  

Pray to God
Jesus told his followers to “always pray and never lose hope.” Luke 18:1

When we have real faith, and pray in Jesus’s name as His name has real power, He can change things. We can first change things by praying.

Promises of God
Hope is also based on God’s Word and His promises. Because we know His promises are true, and God cannot lie, we have conviction He will do what He said He would do, and this conviction motivates us to act to change things.

For example, if we want to be in better shape financially and have blessings in our life, God promises, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” Malachi 3:10

Because we’re convinced he’ll follow through on His promise, this motivates us to tithe.

If we want a successful life, he promises, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Luke 6:38 says, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

So we give generously. If we do this, He said He’ll do this.

Our hope is not looking solely to our financial advisor to help us grow our money, nor in the president of the United States for our security and freedom, or in our psychiatrist for the well-being of our mental health, but taking the action to follow and trust in Christ first who is willing and able.

Hope is Our Anchor in Life

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:19.

Our trust in Him, our hope serves us as an anchor in our life.

An anchor for a boat serves to keep the boat from drifting away. It also keeps a boat in place and from tipping over during a storm.

Daily, we can easily drift away – from responsibilities, from those we love, from God himself – and go into unsafe waters.

In a storm, if we pray instead of panic, he will still our waters and keep us stable.

Our hope in Christ is our anchor that holds us secure in life.

What is Real Hope?

God wants us to have real hope, and we can.

"Through him [Jesus] you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." 1 Peter 1:21

Faith and hope work together. You cannot have one without the other. Because you know that God is real, He cannot lie, and He loves you like crazy, then by having faith and stepping forward to follow Him, praying, and relying on his promises, you can achieve a blessed and abundant life, and feel real peace.

Hope is a reality, not wishful thinking. If you have God, you have hope.
The more distant we drift away from God, the less hope we have, and the closer we are to Him, the more hope we have.

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

What is Life Like Without Hope?

“Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless.” Job 8:11-13

As we look to the new year ahead, we can step forward and change our life for the better with hope because hope has a name.
1 Hope Has A Name by Passion Music. Written by Kristian Stanfill, Sean Curran, and Jacob Sooter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI-fTpLINZ8
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