Biblical hope begins with an attitude of faith. Faith in things we are promised regarding the future. Faith is something we choose to have issue by issue. Faith is something God says in the Bible and we believe it is true and then we stand firm on that truth.

Hope is an even deeper attitude which grows as faith counts God’s promises as true. Hope acts like an anchor to stabilize our lives in the present. That stability gives us meaning and direction and encouragement and optimism. I’s never an empty hope.

Jesus was referred to by the prophet as the “hope of Israel.” Hope always is looking ahead and those many righteous Jews down through the centuries living on tiptoe, anticipating Messiah’s coming, fulfilling the promise that He would arrive. He would be the Hope of Israel and ultimately of the world. And with that in mind, we’re thinking of Him as “the hope."