Here we go. New word. New month. New adventure.
It was the end of November 2012. I had just returned from 3 months in Africa living my dream. I wanted to save the babies and I did but I didn’t find my purpose. Don’t get me wrong saving lives is incredible but it felt more like I was checking it off a list. The question became, “Now what?” Most people live their whole lives and never reach their dream… I was 20 years old with no dream. I needed to find a new dream.
I settled with, “Whatever God has for me.” Which is a great posture to take but it’s a cop-out. The truth is God has placed desires in our hearts for a reason. He has a plan and a purpose for us. Ultimately, He wants us to want Him.
Thus the word for the month HOPE.
What an interesting word. My first impression was oh sweet I’ve got this… jokes on me. It turns out that I was actually afraid to hope. Or more afraid to use that word when describing things. To say I had hope sounded to whimsical and not certain.
Hope:
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“a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen, grounds for believing that something good may happen.” Synonyms: hopefulness, optimism, expectation, expectancy, confidence, faith, trust, belief, conviction, assurance
At first, I found myself so focused on the difference between hope and faith. I was digging through scripture and trying to pick it apart. Just about every time I found the word hope, faith was close by.
Faith:
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“complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” Synonyms: hopefulness, optimism, expectation, confidence, hope, trust, belief, conviction, credence, reliance, dependence
When Jesus, so lovingly said, “ I didn’t give you the word faith. I gave you the word hope. So stop trying to figure out the difference and just focus on hope.” How do I have hope and what do I hope for if I am not sure what it is? So far what I’ve learned is hope is God.
Trust:
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“believe in the reliability, truth, or ability of, have confidence; hope, have faith or confidence.” Synonyms: confidence, hope, faith, belief, conviction, credence, reliance, sureness, certainty, certitude, assurance,
Are you ready for this?
2 Samuel 22:3
“My God my rock, in whom I trust.”
The Hebrew word for trust used here is: chacah. Which means, “to put trust in, to confide in: —have hope, make refuge, trust.
Romans 5:2
“through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
The Greek word for hope used her is: elpis. Which means to anticipate, usually with pleasure; expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence: —faith, hope.
Hebrews 11: 1
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
The Greek word for hope used here is: elpizo. Which means to expect or confide: —hope, trust.
You cannot have hope without faith, faith without trust, and hope, faith, or trust without confidence.
God is our hope. God is our faith. God is our trust. Through Him is our confidence.
One last thing.
Romans 15:13
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
God is the one who fills you, not just to the top but to overflowing. He gives you ALL joy and peace as you trust. You are able to overflow with hope only by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s simple you need Him so that you may have hope.
