HOPE – THE ANCHOR OF YOUR SOUL
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12
Does hope seem as distant to you as the horizon across the ocean?
Are you wondering whether you can ever regain the stability of hope in your life?
Have you ever felt a sense of hopelessness because your life was turned upside down and you didn’t know where you were headed—that your life had drifted off course?
When you are in trouble and feeling overwhelmed, you need something to stabilize your life. You need an anchor. The Women of Faith resources will help anchor your life by explaining the unshakable hope you have in Christ. Learn the difference between cultural and Christian hope, how to identify unreliable anchors you may mistakenly look to for help, and how God’s unchanging Word offers hope and stability for uncertain times.
The world cries out for hope.
From individuals and families to cities and nations, the cries for justice, for peace, for hope ring out around the world. We cry out for answers, for guidance, for comfort . . . to make it through one more season, to overcome one more tragedy, to persevere one more day.
There is only one hope that will satisfy our longings and our cries, one hope that will anchor us during the storms of life—the hope of Jesus Christ.
From His first cry as a baby to His last cry on the cross, Jesus Christ came to give us hope. The Bible says of Jesus:
“In his name the nations will put their hope.” Matthew 12:21
What an anchor is to a ship, hope is to the soul. They both stabilize whatever needs to be held steady amidst the storms in life. Every Christian has been given a secure anchor in the person of Christ… for the Bible says about Jesus…
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Hebrews 6:19
We have all been “in the same boat” with cloudy thinking about hope. The common view of hope in our culture is quite different from Christian hope. If you live by cultural hope, you will have a boatful of wishful thinking, and what you hope for will sometimes happen … and sometimes not.
However, Christian hope is based on the Bible—God’s unchanging Word. By patiently relying on what God says, you will have all the hope necessary with all the certainty you will ever need. The apostle Paul states the source of our hope…
“Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
What Is Hope?
When we live with biblical hope, we have an anchored life. We are held steady in the midst of any storm. Because hope is often misunderstood, an accurate understanding of the meaning of hope is crucial. The Bible says that when your hope is anchored in God, He will teach you His truth and lead you in the way you should go. This prayer is yours to claim …
“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:5
- Hope identified as cultural hope is merely an optimistic desire that something will be fulfilled. This hope is not a guaranteed hope because it is subject to changeable people and circumstances.
- Hope identified as Christian hope is an optimistic assurance that something will be fulfilled. This hope is a guaranteed hope, not subject to change but rather anchored in our unchangeable Savior and Lord.
Although the Bible uses the word hope in both the secular and the spiritual sense, the focus of our Christian hope is always based on the guaranteed promises of God. Thus, this hope will never be a disappointment. As Christians, we are promised peace with God…
“We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3–5