Our Hope Is In God- Part 1

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:5 (KJV)

Hope is the confident expectation of a good and positive outcome. When we face challenges in life, we need to stir up hope. When we hope, it gives us an attitude adjustment, and we begin to have a positive outlook before we know it. God is good and He has good things for us.

Stirring up hope requires us to look at God and what He is capable of, plus what He has promised. It requires us to look at the ways God has been faithful in the past. In short, stirring up hope requires faith. We hope so until we know so. You know what God has said and shown you to be true, and it happens for you. We use our faith to make the thing we’ve hoped for a reality in our lives. As I’ve said before, faith is the arrow and hope is the target.

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:13 (KJV)

God is the God of hope, so He is our hope. Holy Spirit fills us with joy and peace in believing, which gives us the ability to overflow with hope. We don’t live without hope because God’s love is shed abroad in our hearts, poured forth in us, and the measure of faith we’ve been given works by that love. Holy Spirit thus empowers us to have joy and peace in waiting for that which we’ve believed for, our hope, to come to pass. By believing God, we abound in hope, not despair and defeat.

Hope isn’t simply a wish. Hope is a “know so” based on who God is. Faith is a “know so” based on what God says. Peace is the assurance that God has the power to perform His promises. Together, they bring the promises of the Lord to pass. Therefore, we rejoice in hope, knowing we have a positive assurance God be who He is and will do what He says.