Daily Devotional: Hope

Living a Life of Hope

The Christian life is a life of faith and hope. Romans 1:17 states, “The righteous will live by faith.”  Having become a child of God by faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are to continue to live by faith. A word that is often associated with faith is the word “hope.” The word hope is used often in Scripture.  So what does it mean to live a life of faith and having a certain hope?  

The Scriptures define “hope” for us. It is not the common thought of blind optimism or a “hope-so” feeling. The Scriptures define the words faith and hope in Hebrews 11:1. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This faith based on hope is illustrated in the lives of the men and women we read of in Hebrews 11. Their faith and hope was life changing and practical. They believed God and hoped in His promises.  There are two parts to this definition: (1) the assurance of things hoped for and (2) the conviction of things not seen.

“The assurance of things hoped for” is a deep confidence that the promises of God will happen just as they are stated in the Bible. Some of these promises are the forgiveness of sin, salvation and an eternal future in heaven. The objects of our hope are the promises of God and we live our life by faith with complete confidence that they will come true.  Warren Wiersbe defines faith as, “confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.” We trust God’s Word and we act on it as we live each day regardless of what may happen or what other people may think or do.

The word “conviction” is only used here in Scripture. It means proof, argument or evidence. The “evidence or proof” is found in Hebrews 11:3 and centers around God creating this world and the universe. We are convicted that there is a Master Planner who created all things. We see His handy work in all of creation as stated in Romans 1:20. His very nature, attributes and power are clearly seen. This God who created all things has given us precious promises upon which we base our hope. This causes us to live by faith believing we will one day receive these promises.

With all this in mind, are you living a life of faith?  Has your hope in God’s promises changed your life?  Has your perspective moved heavenward or is it still focus on life here in this world.  The men and women who lived a life of faith in Hebrews 11, focused on the hope of the promises of God and it radically changed them.  May we be men and women in our generation whose lives are changed by placing our hope in God’s promises.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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