What do hope mean in the bible

True hope comes by trusting God even when circumstances are difficult. Trust produces obedience, which produces hope, which results in joy and peace; and that is the power of the Holy Spirit.

A wonderful result of hope is delivered by the Holy Spirit of God. Hope given by him works together to give us confidence, joy, peace, power and love. That is a true gift! Hoping in God will never lead us into despair, because He has a plan for all of us who look to Him. He has a future that is full of hope. Share Tweet. Hope can always be found. It is present in every situation.

In Jeremiah, God was revealing his plan to give us this hope forever. Not only for deliverance from Old Testament trials or enemies, but for a new life beyond our wildest imaginations. Our hope is placed in a gift we simply cannot achieve on our own.

God has given us the gift of hope. It is as certain and foundational as the fact that he gave us life. But biblical hope is not able to be dashed.

It holds tight to the Deliverer who delights in the hope we have. Lia Martin loves to inspire others to lean into the Lord daily. She's a writer, editor, marketer, former Crosswalk. When she's not cultivating words, she loves walking in nature, reading, exploring the latest health trends, and laughing with her two wonderful kids. She blogs at liamartinwriting. Share this. Israelites trusted God to provide land, peace, and prosperity.

In early passages there are few expressions of hope for the next world. Those who descend to the grave have no hope Isa Only those still living could hope Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes , as salvation was for this life. Toward the end of the Old Testament God made known his plan to bring his everlasting kingdom to earth Dan ; and to raise the dead At that point hope became more focused on the next world, especially on the resurrection.

God will "swallow up death forever" Isa , and the dead will rise again ; this is the salvation for which the faithful wait The New Testament. The New Testament consistently uses the verb elpizo [ ejlpivzw ] and the noun elpis [ ejlpiv" ] for hope. Parallel to those passages in the Old Testament where those who hope are not put to shame, Paul says hope does not disappoint us Rom The reason is that we already have a taste of the future glory because of the love with which the Holy Spirit fills our hearts.

In other words, the gifts of love and of the Spirit are downpayments of future glory for which we hope Rom ; cf. Eph In the Old Testament hope has to do with waiting for, looking for, desiring.

This is paralleled in the Gospels, where the word "hope" is not very frequent but the idea of looking expectantly is. Simeon looked for Israel's consolation at the advent of the Messiah Luke Likewise, Anna, the prophetess, upon recognizing who Jesus was, proclaimed him to all those who were anticipating redemption Luke In connection with hope in Romans Paul speaks of waiting with eager expectation for the revelation of the children of God v. We are waiting "for the righteousness for which we hope" Gal and for "the blessed hope, " namely, the glorious appearing of our Lord Titus Paul has both an eager expectation and a hope for God to be glorified in him, whether in life or death Php He goes on to express his desire to leave this world to be present with Christ As hope is connected with patient endurance in the Old Testament, so in the New Testament trials lead to hope Rom and hope is steadfast 1 Th When we hope for something we wait for it through patience Rom ; In the Old Testament hope is linked with "putting confidence in" or "taking refuge in.

He hopes to send Timothy and trusts in the Lord that he himself will come Php Hebrews talks about courage and hope Likewise, Paul links hope and boldness 2 Cor In a passage about the confidence we can have in God's promises, Hebrews mentions taking refuge by seizing the sure anchor of hope that is set before us. Reminiscent of the Old Testament false objects of hope, Paul counsels the wealthy not "to set their hope in wealth" 1 Tim In addition to putting hope in God and Christ, we hope for salvation 1 Th ; God's glory Rom ; Col ; resurrection Acts ; ; 1 Thess ; the redemption of our bodies Rom ; righteousness Gal ; eternal life Titus ; ; the glorious appearing of Jesus Titus ; and that we shall become like him when he does appear 1 John