Faith

How To Have Hope

by John Clark 
05/19/23
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     Wikipedia defines hope as "an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life and the world at large." By this definition many people have lost hope, as evidenced by depression and suicide, which has risen to a whole new level. 
     True hope is based on a living person. That person is Jesus Christ. The whole basis of  Christianity is the death and resurrection of Jesus, the only religious leader to have risen from the dead. This means that after 2,000 plus years Jesus is alive today! First Timothy 4:10 says a person can have "hope set on the living God, who is the savior of all people, especially of those who believe." This is further stated in First Peter 1:3. People can be "born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."
     These two above passages taken together express that a person must receive Jesus as their living savior. This is the prerequisite for having real hope. It all begins here. When a person receives Jesus as savior, God's Holy Spirit comes to reside in them. Romans 15:13 says, "by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." 
     This hope is not only in this life, but also in the afterlife. The last part of First Peter 1:3 continues saying that hope is "an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you." Revelation 21:4 gives a description of this hope in heaven. "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." That is most definitely an "expectation of positive outcomes."
     The living hope that Jesus offers is able to deliver you from addictions and depression, and will give you a purpose for living. You will have hope in this life and the life to come.