Whether a person is saved or unsaved almost every person has hope in some form of better days ahead. It is something built into us that makes us think that tomorrow will be better than today. Hope is a very important word in the Bible. It is found 75 times in the New Testament (NASB), and 55 times in the Old Testament (NASB). In Greek it is the word, elpis, which simply means an expectation of good. For the unsaved, hope is a fickle idea with no reality or possible value. This is because without Christ the expectation of something better in the eternal future has no substance. Christ addresses the many religious people who are without Christ on the broad road thinking they are going to glory but are headed instead for destruction (Matt. 7:13). They have hope without substance. We know that outside of Christ what the future holds is a condemnation described in the most terrible and hideous of terms.

For the Christian, hope is listed in 1 Corinthian’s as one of the three key lasting and special elements of the Christian life. These essential and wonderful three things are faith, hope, and love. The focal point of the Christian’s hope is Christ Himself. He is called even by the name elpis, or the Christian hope in 1 Timothy 1:1. The knowledge of the great three, faith, hope, and love are all focused on Christ and for what He did in dying for sinners, and what He has promised for those who have faith, hope, and love in Him.  In the chapter of Hebrews where faith is explained by example, hope is expressed in conjunction with faith; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). This is a very informative and revealing verse. It brings together hope with assurance. It does this even though neither one is seen physically. This verse teaches us the relationship of hope to faith and thereby explains the richness of the hope for the Christian. To the Christian, hope is an investment in a sure, yet unseen future.

As all good gifts come to us from God the Father, a glorious and essential gift of hope has been given to Christians. By the promises of God we are assured of a coming better future of living in a perfect state of glory in His presence. The significance of possessing hope in the immediate is expressed by Paul in Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Here are just some of the many blessed benefits of which we can abound in this hope as it works out in all who belong to Christ. It produces the fruit of being able to face trials and sufferings with a joyful confidence in God (Rom. 8:28). It provides great patience, and with the patience a continuance in prayer (Rom. 5:3). It stabilizes us in well-being by linking us with hope because of the Lord’s steadfastness (Heb. 3:6; 6:18-19). Paul tells us even when we are facing the death of a loved one that, “We sorrow not as those who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Because of our hope, we carry in us a rich expectation grounded in the promises of the Ruler of the universe that we will be united with our loved one in Christ again one day. Hope in Christ is such a blessing because it keeps our spirit nourished to arise each day knowing that Jesus Christ is King, Lord, and Sovereign over everyone and everything. This is the very basis of our hope.

The Bible warns those who are living in these last days, that God will pour out upon the inhabitants of the earth, in the days just prior to the return of Christ, a terrible time of trouble which the Scripture calls the Day of the Lord or the tribulation. But despite this reality of devastating coming judgment, Paul tells us that we who are in Christ, have a “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13).  That blessed or special hope is because Jesus Himself will come for us who belong to Him by removing us before the tribulation even begins (Rev. 3:10). No wonder that it is called our blessed hope.

Let us be reminded that only a Christian can have true hope. It is a hope fixed upon Christ. This also motivates our desire to worship Him, be in His Word, and seek Him in prayer. Are we having a rough time living? Are we having personal problems of health or physical well-being? Perhaps we are having family, financial, or occupational problems? Maybe we are just exhausted from the disappointments of life in this fallen world? What should we do? The Psalmist says from his heart, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence” (Psalm 42:5). Jesus Christ is our blessed Hope!