HOPE

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Rom. 15:4

One of the goals or purposes of the Scriptures in your life is to develop and increase your hope. God is a God of hope and He wants your hope to greatly abound.

"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." Rom. 15:13

Hope Plus Faith
Many times hope is a neglected part of the Christian life. Hope alone will never bring results from God's Word. But when hope is developed in the Word of God, then used in connection with faith, you will begin to see the move of God in your life as you have desired.

Too often in an effort to make faith work, people have overlooked the necessity of hope in God's Word. But as you study the Bible, you will find that hope is an extremely important part of success with God.

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." What can faith give substance to if there is no hope? You must have hope in God's Word before your faith can produce anything.

Hope sets the goal for your faith. Once the goal is set, your faith can go into operation to bring that goal from God's Word into the present physical world.

Meditating in the Word of God brings these hopes and goals into clear view. The goals God has for you become more vivid each day. As your hope is expanded, your capacity for faith is also expanded. When you put faith into operation, you have a clear picture of what your faith is bringing to pass.

Hope: A Favorable Expectation
This is the same principle God used in creation. He had an inner picture of what He expected the universe to look like. He knew what He expected man to look like. He had a hope, or a goal, and He released faith with His words which created the images He had within Him.

Hope is a confident and favorable expectation. When you allow the Word to create a favorable expectation, then add your faith to that expectation, you have a winning combination.

"There is little anyone can do for a person who has laid down his hope for receiving from God."

This helps to explain why many people fail to receive healing in their bodies, even though they believe in the principles of faith and healing. Some have even died. Somewhere along the way, they lose their hope. They lose sight of their "confident and favorable expectation." They become hopeless. They don't see themselves getting well.

They don't see themselves getting out of bed. They have lost all hope of being healed. Their goal is no longer to continue the fight of faith, but to simply go on to be with Jesus.

There is no prayer of faith that will change that. There is little anyone can do for a person who has laid down his hope for receiving from God.

Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." Unless you make the effort to keep your hope and expectation in God's Word, you will become sick and weak in your heart. It is vitally important to have a strong and active hope.

Believing Against Hope
Abraham received a hope from God that he would have a son. To Abraham's mind, all hope was gone of having a son, but the Bible says of him: "Who against hope believed in hope…" (Rom. 4:18).

Against natural hope, Abraham chose to believe the hope God set before him. It was supernatural hope—a goal that could not be accomplished without a miracle from God. He applied his faith to the hope from God, and the result was a son.

When God told Abraham to take his son and offer him as a burnt sacrifice, Abraham instantly began to form a picture in his spirit. He saw himself taking Isaac to the mountain, slaying him and offering him as a sacrifice. Isaac was as good as dead, because Abraham had determined to obey God's command.

At the same time, however, Abraham knew the promise God had given concerning Isaac. God's Word had produced hope. Isaac was to be the seed from which an entire nation would be born. That promise had to be fulfilled; therefore, Isaac would have to be raised from the dead.

Abraham told the men to wait for them at the foot of the mountain. He said, "I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you" (Gen. 22:5). He was confident that both of them were going to return.

Abraham had the image alive in him of God raising up Isaac.

"By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac. Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." Heb. 11:17-19

What Abraham accounted that God would do was his hope. Because of that hope, he could respond in faith toward God.

Active hope that is established in God's Word will bring stability to your soul - your mind, reasoning, and emotions. Hebrews 6:19 calls hope "an anchor of the soul."

Having a clear image in your spirit of God's desire for you will keep your soul from drifting off the Word. It will keep you single-minded. You will not toy with ideas that contradict the hope that is within you.

When something comes to convince you that the Word will not work this time, your spirit will be alive with hope in God's Word. Hope will keep sending scriptural evidence to reinforce your mind and keep you sure and steadfast in the Word of God

JBU