HOPE

Dedication

To my beautiful wife, my partner in life and ministry, and to our three wonderful children, who are a daily reminder of God’s hopeful promises.

And to you, the reader, wherever you are in the world... May you be filled with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Introduction

In all our human striving, through every culture and in every generation, there is one unseen force that keeps the heart beating: hope. We hope for a good harvest. We hope for the cry of a healthy newborn. We hope for peace to come to a war-torn land. We hope for the simple joy of a loved one returning home.

But for the Christian, hope is something far more powerful than a wish. It is not a fragile "maybe" or a desperate "I hope so." For the believer, hope is a foundational document, a spiritual charter of our rights and realities in the kingdom of God. It is, as the title of this book suggests, a "divine charter"—a foundational covenant—that defines our liberty, our future, and our relationship with the King.

It is no mistake that the Apostle Paul introduces us to God by this very title:

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13 MEV

Our God is the God of Hope. His very nature is the source of all confident expectation. Think about that. The Creator of the universe, the Alpha and Omega, has tied His own identity to the concept of hope. This means that His will is not for you to live in dread, anxiety, or uncertainty. His will is for you to overflow with hope.

This is not a new idea. From the moment God began to speak to humanity, His words were laced with a future. To a people in captivity, He declared:

“For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11 MEV

God's plan for you is not just a plan for now; it is a plan for then. He is always pointing us forward. His voice is always the one that speaks of a glorious, secured, and redeemed future, even when our present circumstances shout the opposite.

Because this is true, the most important question of your life becomes: Where is your hope?

The prophet Jeremiah gives us a powerful, agricultural illustration that anyone in the world can understand:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat comes, but its leaf shall be green, and it shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 MEV

This is a picture of perfect stability. The tree is not affected by the circumstances (heat, drought) because it is connected to the source (the river).

This is what it means to have your hope in God alone. But the world is constantly offering us other "rivers"—other sources to plug into.

We are tempted to put our hope in governments or political movements. But when the election results don't go our way, or that party fails to deliver on its promises, our expectation is cut off.

We are tempted to put our hope in man—a boss, a mentor, a spouse, or even a pastor like me. But people, even wonderful, well-meaning people, will inevitably let you down. As a husband and a father, I know that as much as I love my family, I cannot be their ultimate source of hope. Only God can.

We are tempted to put our hope in our own efforts—pinning our entire future on a particular business venture or a career path.

And, of course, we are tempted to put our hope in money. We think, "If I just had this much in the bank, I would finally feel secure." But economies crash, currencies devalue, and wealth can be a notoriously fickle foundation.

Putting your hope in these things is not like being a tree by the river. It is like being a tumbleweed in the desert, tossed about by every wind of change.

These three will abide forever: faith, hope, and love. These are the great, eternal principles that govern the kingdom of God. They are not suggestions; they are the spiritual physics of our new reality.

• Faith gives us access to kingdom realities (Romans 5:1). It is the "now" of God.
• Love is the motive and the goal. It is the "why" of God.
• Hope, then, is the anchor. It is the principle that gives us steadfastness to endure for the "then" of God—the glorious, unseen future He has promised.

The purpose of hope is to see us through to the end. Jesus Himself said, "He that endures to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13). It is hope, and hope alone, that fuels that endurance. It is the light on the horizon that pulls us forward, one step at a time, into the glorious future He has prepared for us.

In this book, we will explore this Magna Carta of our faith. We will discover what hope is, what it does, and how it can radically transform every area of our lives.

CHAPTER 1: WHAT HOPE IS

Before we can grasp the power of hope, we must first rescue the word from our common, everyday language.

In our world, "hope" is often just a synonym for "wishful thinking." We say, "I hope it doesn't rain on my day off," or "I hope I find a good parking spot." This kind of hope is fragile. It has no power. It is a desire for a positive outcome with no real certainty behind it.

Biblical hope is the exact opposite.

The Greek word for hope used throughout the New Testament is elpis. It does not mean "to wish." It means "a confident and joyful expectation of good."

Hope, in the Christian sense, is not a wish for the future; it is a certainty about the future. The outcome has already been secured. Our hope is not based on the chances of something happening, but on the character of the One who promised it.

This is why hope is so deeply connected to the unseen. As the Apostle Paul writes:

“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”

Romans 8:24-25 NKJV

If you are already holding something in your hand, you don't need to hope for it. You have it. Hope, by its very nature, deals with the future. It is the bridge between God's promise and its fulfillment.

Think of an expectant mother. She has a promise—a new life growing within her. She cannot see the baby's face. She cannot hold its hand. But her hope is not "wishful thinking." It is a confident expectation.

That hope changes everything about her present. She changes how she eats. She prepares a room. She buys clothes for someone she has never met. Her hope in the unseen baby radically transforms her seen reality. She is "eagerly waiting for it with perseverance."

This is a picture of Christian hope.

We, too, are pregnant with a promise. We have the promise of Christ's return. We have the promise of a resurrected body. We have the promise of a new heaven and a new earth. We cannot see these things with our physical eyes, but like the expectant mother, our confident expectation changes how we live right now.

Hope is the absolute, settled conviction that God is good, His Word is true, and our future is secure in His hands, regardless of what our present circumstances look like. It is the confident expectation of good in your future, based not on your performance, but on His promises.

This is the hope that we will explore. It is not a fragile wish; it is an unbreakable anchor.

CHAPTER 2: THE EFFECT OF HOPE.

When this elpis—this confident expectation—takes root in a human heart, it is the single most powerful, life-altering force in the universe. It is not a passive, quiet virtue; it is an active, dynamic power that produces profound, tangible effects in our daily lives.

If you find your life lacking in patience, peace, or stability, the root cause may be a deficiency in hope. Let's explore what the Bible says hope does in our lives.

Hope Does Not Disappoint.

How many things in life have disappointed you? A job. A friend. A leader. Even yourself. We live in a world of broken promises. But the Bible makes a staggering claim about this elpis hope:

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Romans 5:3-5 NKJV

This is an incredible chain of events. Paul says we glory in our troubles. Why? Because the pressure of tribulation strengthens our perseverance (our endurance). As we endure, God forges character in us. And the final product of that tested, refined character is hope.

This hope—the kind forged in the fires of trial—will never, ever make us ashamed. It will never let us down. Why? "Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts." The guarantee of our future hope is the present experience of God's love by His Spirit.

When you lose hope, you become despondent. You feel ashamed. You feel foolish for ever believing. But biblical hope is a sure thing. It cannot disappoint, because it is anchored in God Himself.

Hope Produces Patience.

In our high-speed, instant-gratification world, patience is a lost art. We want everything now. But hope teaches us the divine rhythm of waiting.

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” Romans 8:25 NKJV

You cannot wait without hope. True patience is not just sitting and doing nothing; it is a hope-filled endurance.

As a pastor, I have seen this over and over. When people lose hope, they make shortcuts. They terminate the marriage because they've lost hope for restoration. They quit on their dream because they've lost hope for a breakthrough. They abandon their faith because they've lost hope for an answer to prayer.

But if you have hope, you can wait. If you have a confident expectation of God's future good, you can endure the present difficulty. Hope is the fuel for patience. The farmer has the patience to wait all season for the harvest because he has a confident hope that the harvest is coming.

Hope Produces Faith.

This is one of the most foundational principles in the kingdom. Look at the very definition of faith:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

Many people get this confused. But the relationship is simple: Hope is the target; faith is the arrow.

Hope is the unseen future. It's the blueprint of what God has promised. Faith is the "substance." It is the spiritual material that brings the blueprint into reality.

You cannot have faith for something you do not first hope for. Hope is the vision of the future; faith is the action you take to move toward it. If you have no hope for your marriage, you will have no faith to fight for it. If you have no hope for your nation, you will have no faith to pray for it. Hope is the "what," and faith is the "now."

Hope Saves.

We often speak of salvation in the past tense: "I was saved." And this is gloriously true! But Paul also speaks of salvation as a future hope:

“For we were saved in this hope...” Romans 8:24 NKJV.

What does this mean? We have been saved from the penalty of sin (justification). We are being saved from the power of sin (sanctification). And one day, we will be saved from the very presence of sin (glorification).

This future-tense salvation—the redemption of our bodies, the day we will be like Him—is our hope. It is this hope that saves us from giving up. It is this hope that saves us from becoming too attached to this world. We are saved by grace, but we are also saved in hope.

Hope Brings Peace.

In a world filled with anxiety, depression, and mental turmoil, the promise of peace is like water in a desert. And the source of that peace is hope.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”

Isaiah 26:3 NKJV

"Perfect peace" (in Hebrew, Shalom, Shalom) is not the absence of a storm; it is the presence of God in the storm. And how do we get it? By keeping our minds "stayed on Him." What is that "staying" of the mind? It is the work of hope! Hope is the act of anchoring your mind to the character and promises of God, rather than letting it drift on the chaotic waves of your circumstances. When your hope is fixed on Him, the supernatural by-product is peace.

Hope Brings Unshakeable Stability.

Are you feeling tossed about by life? By bad news, by shifting cultural values, by personal crises? Hope is the antidote to instability.

“Those who trust in the Lord Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lord surrounds His people From this time forth and forever.”

Psalms 125:1-2 NKJV.

What a powerful image! A person whose hope is in the Lord is not a tumbleweed. They are a mountain. They are unshakeable. They are not moved by every new opinion, every political scandal, or every personal setback.

A person of hope is stable, reliable, and steadfast. They "abide forever" because their foundation is not on the shifting sands of this world, but on the unmovable rock of God's Word.

Hope Brings Supernatural Prosperity.

Let's return to Jeremiah's "tree" illustration. This is a profound picture of what I call "supernatural prosperity."

“For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters... and shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:8 MEV.

Notice, this tree is not immune to the environment. It still endures the "heat" and the "year of drought." This is not a promise to escape all difficulty.

The promise is that even in the year of drought—in the middle of a recession, a personal loss, or a global crisis—the hopeful person will not be anxious. Why? Because their source is not the economy. Their source is not their job. Their source is the river of God. And because they are connected to that limitless source, they "shall not cease from yielding fruit."

This is true prosperity: to be fruitful, peaceful, and generous in a time of lack, all because your hope is in the Lord.

Hope Makes You Soar Above The Storms.

Finally, hope is what gives you supernatural strength to rise above your challenges, not just endure them.

“But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV.

This "waiting" is not passive. It is the active, expectant hoping in God. And the result is the strength of an eagle. An eagle is a magnificent creature. When a storm comes, other birds hide. But the eagle flies into the storm. It uses the very winds and updrafts that seem destructive to lift it above the clouds.

This is the person of hope. They don't just "get through" the trial. They learn to ride the thermals of God's grace, mounting up on the trial itself, to a higher place of strength and perspective.

Hopeful people do not get tired in the same way. When others faint, they keep walking. When others grow weary, they keep running. They are drawing strength from an unseen source.

This is the effect of hope. It is not small. It is not weak. It is the very power of God, transforming every part of our existence.

CHAPTER 3: THE CHARACTER OF HOPE.

Now that we have established what hope is and what it produces in our lives, we must understand its nature. There are many misconceptions about hope. Some think of it as a soft, passive emotion—a kind of spiritual daydreaming.

But biblical hope is not a foolish, passive, or timid wish. It is a bold, joyful, and relentless confidence based on the rock-solid promises of God. It has a specific character, a unique DNA that separates it from mere optimism.

A. Hope Is Not Foolishness.

There is a dangerous idea that to be "full of hope" means to disconnect your brain. People assume that faith and hope require us to ignore reality or sit idly by while waiting for a miracle. This could not be further from the truth.

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

James 2:26 NKJV

Biblical hope is intelligent. It is not a blind leap in the dark; it is a calculated step into the light of God's revealed will.

Don't wait on God when God is waiting on you.

Hope is never an excuse for passivity. When the children of Israel stood before the fortified walls of Jericho, God did not tell Joshua to sit in his tent and "hope" the walls would fall. He told him to march. He told him to shout. The hope that victory was assured was the very thing that fuelled their marching feet.

Hope and obedience work together. You cannot claim to have hope if you are unwilling to act on it.

If you are hoping for a job, your hope should not keep you in bed; it should motivate you to polish your resume and send out applications with expectation.

If you are hoping for a restored marriage, your hope should motivate you to love, serve, and forgive your spouse today, even if they are not reciprocating yet.

Hope is not a substitute for action; it is the fuel for it.

Don't hope against the Word of God.

We must also understand that hope is not a magic wand we wave to get whatever we want. Hope that is contrary to the Word of God is not hope at all; it is presumption.

Let me give you a somewhat humorous illustration. If you hope and pray to grow horns, you will be disappointed. You can fast, you can confess it, and you can believe it with all your heart, but it will not happen. Why? Because it is outside of God's created order for a human being. That is not hope; that is foolishness.

This applies seriously to our lives and ministries as well. We must align our hope with His promise for us.

In my years of ministry, I have seen pastors frustrated and burnt out because they were hoping to build a 10,000-member megachurch, when God had called them to faithfully pastor a flock of 100. Their frustration wasn't because God failed; it was because their hope was misplaced. True hope is found inside God's specific call for your life, not outside of it. When you align your hope with His will, you find peace.

B. Hope Is Based on Promise.

If hope is not just wishful thinking, what makes it solid? It is the foundation upon which it rests.

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Romans 15:4 NKJV

A wish has no foundation. A preference has no foundation. But biblical hope is founded on the "Thus saith the Lord."

Hope has a "receipt."

Imagine you go to a store and purchase a large appliance. You pay for it, but you have to drive your car around to the loading dock to pick it up. While you are walking to your car, you do not have the appliance in your hands. But you have a receipt. That piece of paper is your confidence. It is the proof that the item belongs to you, even before you see it.

The written Word of God is your receipt. Before you "claim" a hope, you must first "find" a promise. You cannot arbitrarily decide what you want God to do; you must discover what He has said He will do.

This is what separates hope from foolishness. The "foolish" man hopes the storm won't come, but he builds on the sand. The "hopeful" man knows the storm might come, but he builds his house on the Rock—the promises of God. When the rain descends and the floods come, he is secure, not because of his optimism, but because of his foundation.

C. Hope Isn’t Timid.

Because our hope is based on the unshakable Word of God, it changes our posture. We do not have to whisper our convictions.

“Seeing then that we have such hope, we speak with great boldness,”

2 Corinthians 3:12 MEV

Hope is not shy. It is not quiet. It is confident and vocal.

There is a "holy boldness" that comes from a person who is confident of their future. They are not arrogant, for their confidence is not in themselves. But they are certain. They are not obnoxious, but they are unshakeable.

When you know the outcome of the game, you don't panic in the fourth quarter. When you know the promise of the King, you don't cower before the circumstances of life.

Fear is outlawed where hope reigns.

Fear is essentially belief in a negative future. Hope is belief in a God-ordained future. They cannot coexist in the same space. As hope grows, fear must shrink.

Think of a child holding their father's hand in a crowded, chaotic market. There is noise, confusion, and strangers everywhere. A child alone would be terrified. But the child holding their father’s hand is not afraid. They are not unafraid because they are strong; they are unafraid because their hope is in their father's grip.

We, too, walk through a chaotic world. But we can "speak with great boldness" and live without fear, not because we are strong enough to handle it, but because our hope is in our Father's grip.

D. Hope Is Joyful

The character of hope is not just bold; it is also radiantly happy.

“Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:2 NKJV.

Hope is not a grim, joyless endurance. It is a "glowing" endurance.

Joy is the atmosphere that hope breathes.

This is a forward-looking joy. It is the joy of the engaged couple before the wedding. They are not married yet, but the hope of that day fills their engagement period with excitement and preparation. It is the joy of the farmer before the harvest. He sees the bare ground, but he smiles because he knows what the seed will do.

It is the joy of anticipating the certain good that is coming.

If you find a Christian who is perpetually sour, cynical, or gloomy, you have found a Christian who has lost their connection to hope. You cannot truly believe that the God of the universe is working all things for your good and remain miserable. Joy is the inevitable byproduct of biblical hope.

E. Hope Never Quits.

Finally, the defining character of hope is that it is relentless. It refuses to die.

"Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead —since he was about a hundred years old —and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."

Romans 4:18-21 NIV

Abraham is our father in the faith, and he shows us what hope looks like in the dark. The scripture uses a fascinating phrase: "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed."

When natural hope was dead—when his body was old and Sarah was barren—supernatural hope came alive. Hope is the last light to go out in the human heart. It is the anchor that holds in the final, fiercest part of the storm.

We are "hope-filled realists."

Earlier, I mentioned "hopeless optimists," but let's refine that. Optimism says, "Things aren't that bad." Hope says, "Things are bad, but God is good." Abraham "faced the fact" that his body was dead. He was a realist about his problem. But he was "fully persuaded" about his God.

We are realistic about the brokenness and pain of the world, but we are optimistic because we know the end of the story.

Hope is the engine of perseverance. It is the "why" that helps you endure any "how." As long as you have hope, you cannot be defeated.

CHAPTER 4: HOPE FOR CHANGE OF STORY.

The previous chapters have established the nature of hope, but this chapter is where we apply it. This chapter is for those who are in the trenches of waiting. It is for those who are trusting God for specific, tangible promises, yet see no evidence in the natural realm.

I am writing this to assure you that God has not forgotten you. You might have to wait a little longer, but you must hold on to the Word of God, taking cues from the saints of old who through faith (the substance of hope) and patience inherited the promises.

“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Hebrews 6:11-12 NKJV.

Hope is the vital, spiritual force that keeps faith alive while we wait for God's promises to manifest in the most difficult, painful, and stagnant areas of our lives.

A. The Abrahamic Model: The "How-To" of Hope

We return to Father Abraham because his life is the ultimate case study in hoping for change. He had a specific promise—a son—but his reality screamed "Impossible."

"And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”

Romans 4:19-21 NKJV

How did he keep hope alive when his body was decaying?

First, he chose his focus. The scripture says he "did not consider his own body." This doesn't mean he was in denial. He knew he was 100 years old. He knew Sarah was 90. He knew the biological facts. But he chose not to fixate on them. He refused to let the problem be the meditation of his heart.

Instead, he considered the promise. Hope chooses what it looks at. It acknowledges the facts but anchors to the truth. The truth was simple: "God promised."

Second, he lived in active praise. He was "strengthened in faith, giving glory to God." Hope-filled waiting is not passive pining; it is active praise. He was "fully convinced." This is the definition of hope. If you want to keep hope alive for change, start praising Him for what He is going to do. Bless Him for His promises before you see the provision.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Psalms 103:1-5 NKJV

Praise Him for forgiveness, healing, redemption, His fresh mercies daily, and His provision. Praise shifts your focus from the "deadness" of your situation to the life of God.

B. Hope in Marital Crisis

Perhaps the area where hope dies fastest is in a crumbling marriage. When love turns to cold indifference or heated anger, it feels like death. When the spark of romance turn sparks of strife and contention, hope for connection and love feels like an outlandish dream. But remember the God of Abraham:

“(As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;”

Romans 4:17 NKJV

God specialises in resurrection. He can breathe life into your dead romantic life. Do not quit.

Are you going through a divorce right now? Are you separated? There is a promise of restoration and reconciliation in the Bible. You may say, "My spouse’s heart is done with our marriage and he/she has become hardened." But the Bible says, “The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1 NKJV). He can turn everything around if you thrust everything into His loving and able hands.

Many people make the mistake of putting their hope in their spouse changing. This is a fragile hope because people are flawed and free-willed. Biblical hope puts its trust in God. Your hope is in His promise for marriage, His power to heal, and His grace to sustain you even if your spouse never changes.

When you lose hope, you quit. You stop loving, you stop serving, you stop praying. But hope is the force that empowers you to keep sowing seeds of love into "dead" ground, trusting God for the resurrection.

Take time off and go for that dinner date with your spouse. Take a week away from everything and go for a holiday with your spouse to rekindle your love life. Ask your spouse what you can do to serve them better. Go for counselling. Do everything you can to save that marriage. That is hope. Hope does not surrender. Hope fights and it fights to win. 

C. Hope in Barrenness.

There is a unique pain in the silent nursery. For couples longing for a child, every month can feel like a funeral of hope. But God speaks directly to this:

“So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.” Exodus 23:25-26 NKJV

You must refuse to accept the pictures of childlessness the enemy is painting in your mind through this dry season.

As someone who has gone through a trying season of childlessness for the first four years of our lives, I can totally understand how it feels. I was shattered when my wife had a miscarriage. When she had a stillbirth on the second conception, I was devastated. At that time, I was praying for others to have children and God answered them, but it felt like the heavens were brass for me.

But against hope, I chose to believe in hope.

We got married on December 7, 2013. We waited, we prayed, and we wept. But God is faithful. We received our beautiful baby girl, La Vie, on the 17th of September at about 9pm on a Sunday night. I remember holding my baby for the first time, tears of joy flowing effortlessly because God had done it for us.

Imagine if we had given up on our marriage or on God because the fruit of the womb did not come when we expected it. We persevered, and God has given us even more—we now have three children. Who could have known?

If you are believing God for a child, don’t fixate on the problem. Focus on serving the Lord diligently, just like the Shunamite woman in 2 Kings 4. She devoted herself to serving the Lord by taking care of His prophet, Elisha. She didn't do it as a "transaction" to get a baby; she did it out of pure delight in the Lord. Yet God's response was to meet her deepest need. When the prophet announced she would have a son, she initially protested, afraid of "false hope." But God delivered. Miracles can still happen. I have seen and heard of people whose wombs were medically "dead" getting pregnant again.

However, I must also add this: sometimes while we hope, adoption can be a beautiful way God answers that prayer. Consider adoption. It is not a lack of faith; it is an act of the gospel, giving hope to a child who needs a family.

D. Hope in Singleness.

To my single brothers and sisters: are you looking for a spouse but finding the wait unbearable? Are you tired of being asked “when are you getting married”? Let us clear up a few misconceptions about single hood.

First, being single is not a problem to be solved. It is a season to be stewarded. The Apostle Paul actually encouraged people to see the immense value in singleness:

“But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord... And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.”

1 Corinthians 7:32-35 NKJV

Single people have a unique capacity to serve God with undistracted focus. The Lord Jesus was single, and He fulfilled His purpose perfectly. The Apostle Paul was single, and he labored more abundantly than all the other apostles, planting churches across Asia and Europe. His singleness was not a curse; it was a strategic advantage for the Kingdom.

However, if you desire marriage, that desire is also from God. "He who finds a wife finds a good thing" (Proverbs 18:22).

The temptation in singleness is to have a "hope for a person," which leads to desperation. True biblical hope is hope in God's perfect plan. This hope allows you to be joyfully content and fruitful now, while trusting Him for the future.

Hold on to hope. Keep the picture of that wedding front and center in your prayers, but keep your eyes on Jesus. "Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the Lord" (Proverbs 19:14). The Lord knows your address. He will come for you.

E. Hope in Lack and Poverty

Finally, we must speak of hope in the midst of lack. Poverty tries to steal your dignity and your future, but hope restores them. Hope is not a lottery ticket; it is the assurance that God is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider.

Are you suffering right now? Remember the Shepherd's Psalm:

“You, Lord, are my Shepherd. I will never be in need. You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water.”

Psalms 23:1-2 CEV

And the promise of Paul to the Philippians:

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:19 NLT

Hope in the area of divine provision gives you the strength to work with diligence rather than succumbing to laziness or despair. It gives you the peace to trust Him with generosity, rather than hoarding out of anxiety.

Remember the tree by the river from Jeremiah 17. The hopeful person is generous and fruitful even in a "year of drought," because they know their source is not the economy—it is the Lord.

CHAPTER 5: THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE

Our greatest hope is not just for a better life now, but for a completely new kind of life—eternal life—which begins at salvation and is fully realized in the future.

The hope we have discussed so far is vital for our present lives: for our marriage, our health, our finances, and our calling. But our greatest, most profound hope—the one that stretches beyond the veil of this earthly existence—is the hope of eternal life.

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” Titus 1:2 KJV

“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:7 KJV

What Is Eternal Life?

When we speak of eternal life, we often think only of duration—a limitless quantity of time. While eternal life certainly lasts forever, its true essence is about quality. It is not merely endless time; it is the very life of God Himself, imparted to us.

The New Testament uses the Greek word zoe (\zeta\omega\eta') for this God-kind of life.

W.E. Vine's Expository Dictionary describes zoe as "the principle of life in the spirit and soul." It is the life which the Father possesses in Himself, and which He has granted to the Son:

“For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,” John 5:26 NKJV

Zoe is the uncreated, self-existent life of the Creator. This life is completely independent of the conditions of the created world and is the wellspring of all spiritual and physical vitality.

Eternal Life Is A Present Possession.

You don’t have to wait for the afterlife to receive this zoe life. It is not something you hope to get in the sweet by and by; it is something you possess right now, in the glorious now of God.

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John 3:36 NKJV

You have it. You don't get it when you die; you get it when you believe. The moment you are born again, your spirit is flooded with the endless, unconquerable life of God. This possession begins now, even while its full manifestation awaits the future.

Eternal Life Is Knowing The Father

This zoe life is intrinsically linked to relationship. It is not an abstract force; it is a Person.

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

John 17:3 NKJV

The word translated as "know" in this powerful verse is the Greek verb $\gamma\iota\nu\omega\sigma\kappa\omega$ (ginōskō). This single word holds the key to the nature of zoe life. In Greek, there are two primary verbs for "to know":

1. (eido): This means to know a fact or to have a mental perception, like knowing a piece of trivia or a historical date. If Jesus had used this word, Eternal Life would simply be knowing about God.
2. (ginōskō): This word means to know through intimate, personal experience. It is the knowledge of a relationship, a progressive process of "getting to know" someone over time. It carries the weight of the Hebrew word yada, used in the Old Testament to describe the deepest human intimacy (Genesis 4:1).

By choosing ginosko, Jesus defines Eternal Life not as a static state or a future reward, but as a living, dynamic, and ever-deepening relationship with the Father and the Son. To know Jesus is to know life. This "knowing" is far different from historical or factual knowledge. It is the deep, transformative intimacy of a covenant relationship. It is a knowledge that imparts and transforms.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

II Corinthians 3:18 NKJV

The life of God within you is a constant engine of transformation, making you more and more like the object of your hope: Jesus Christ.

Death Has Been Abolished

The certainty of our eternal hope rests upon one non-negotiable fact: Jesus Christ conquered death.

“But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,”

II Timothy 1:10 NKJV

The word translated "abolished" in the Greek is katargeō (\kappa\alpha\tau\alpha\rho\gamma\acute{\epsilon}\omega), which means "to render idle, inactive, inoperative, or to paralyze." Jesus did not merely cancel death; He broke its power and operational capacity. Death still exists as a separation, but for the believer, it is no longer the final curtain; it is merely a doorway.

This verse also makes a distinction between life (zoe) and immortality (aphtharsia):

Life (Zoe): The spiritual, inherent principle of life received at salvation.

Immortalit y (Aphtharsia): The state of being incorruptible or imperishable; freedom from decay and physical death.

Jesus abolished death by imparting the divine zoe life into our spirits and securing the promise of aphtharsia for our bodies. He brought both of these concepts "to light" through the Gospel.

The One Who Had The Power Of Death Has Been Paralysed.

Our freedom from the fear of death is directly connected to Christ’s victory over the devil.

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.”

Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT

The devil no longer holds the keys to death; Jesus does. The promise of eternal life means that death, the final enemy, is now a defeated foe.

This promise is so complete that the Bible shows us that not everyone will experience physical death. Some will be translated without seeing the grave:

• Enoch: “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24 NKJV)

• Elijah: He was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind by a chariot of fire. (2 Kings 2:11 NKJV)

They are witnesses that physical death is not the compulsory final act for all believers. This miracle of translation is affirmed by Paul:

“But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.”

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NLT

This transformation is the full victory, and then death will finally bow, and Christ shall bring this foe to a crushing defeat and annihilation.

“For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

1 Corinthians 15:25-26 NLT

Effects Of Eternal Life Now

If eternal life is a present possession, it must have present-day effects. The same zoe life that conquered the grave now resides in your spirit and is available to flow into your mortal body. Jesus promised that this supernatural life would manifest as power:

“These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

Mark 16:17-18 NLT

This is not a historical curiosity; this is a mandate for every believer. This zoe life is an active, vital force that defeats the effects of sickness and anything deadly, including poison.

A powerful demonstration occurred on the island of Malta with the Apostle Paul:

“Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.”

Acts of the Apostles 28:1-6 NLT

The snake that bit Paul was identified as a viper, a term often used for a highly venomous species in that region. The poison of the viper—a physical, mortal agent of death—was instantly neutralized by the indwelling, immortal zoe life of God in Paul's body. The power of God was greater than the poison of the serpent.

We must refuse to be sick. The Spirit of life is not meant to be passively housed in your spirit; He is meant to be actively vitalizing your physical body.

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

Romans 8:11 NLT

Jesus demonstrated this dominion perfectly by touching lepers; His life was so potent that it didn't transfer the disease to Him; it transferred healing and cleansing to them. The missionary John G. Lake famously displayed this same dominion in South Africa during the plague. He stood before skeptical doctors and told them to place deadly plague bacilli on his hand. When they examined the sample afterward, the deadly viruses were dead, proving that the life of God flowing through his body gave him complete dominion over the seeds of sickness and death.

Eternal Life As A Future Promise.

While we possess zoe in our spirit now, our hope is anchored in its future, full manifestation in our physical bodies and the entire creation.

“Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)”

Romans 8:20-25 NLT

We hope for it because, while we possess it in our spirits, we wait for this eternal life to fully possess and redeem our bodies as well. This is the hope of glorification, where our mortal bodies put on that promised immortality (aphtharsia):

“For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?””

1 Corinthians 15:53-55 NLT

The God Who Cannot Lie.

Our hope for eternity is not vague. It is not a "maybe." It is not based on wishful thinking. It is based on the absolute certainty of The God Who Cannot Lie.

“which God, that cannot lie, promised.”

He is incapable of falsehood. If He promised it—if it is written in the Magna Carta of our faith—then it is as good as done. This unwavering character of God gives us the perfect confident and joyful expectation of a future where death, decay, and sickness are utterly and finally swallowed up in the victory of eternal life.

CHAPTER 6: HOPE OF HIS RETURN.

The "blessed hope" of Christ's return is the ultimate purifying force for the believer, re-orienting our present-day lives toward godliness and mission. This final, glorious event—the moment our King steps back into time to claim His bride—is the single most motivating, comforting, and transformative expectation in the Christian life.

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

1 John 3:2-3 NKJV

This hope is not passive; it is an active, spiritual accelerant that causes us to deny the world's pull and push, and live a life worthy of His appearance.

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ…”

Titus 2:11-14 NKJV

How To Live In The Present: Soberly, Righteously, and Godly.

While we hope and wait patiently for the return of the Saviour, that hope is designed to move us to a specific pattern of life. The Apostle Paul breaks this down into three essential categories of conduct. To grasp the full power of this mandate, we must understand the precise meaning of the Greek words he used.

English Word	Greek Word	Definition and Focus	Example of Conduct
Soberly	(sōphronōs)	Self-Control (Inward Life). This denotes sanity, soundness of mind, and discipline. It is about having a mastery over one's own passions, thoughts, and appetites.	Disciplining your thought life, controlling your temper, managing your finances, and avoiding addictive behaviors.
Righteously	(dikaiōs)	Justice (Outward Life). This describes just or fair conduct in relation to others. It is about being a good citizen, employer, neighbor, and family member.	Paying your debts, being truthful in business, treating employees and neighbors fairly, and honoring civil law.
Godly	(eusebōs)	Reverence (Upward Life). This means pious, devout, or holy conduct toward God. It describes a life lived in reverence, worship, and devotion.	Prayer, consistent reading of the Word, faithful attendance at worship, and walking in conscious awareness of God's presence.

The Christian life in this present world is therefore a three-dimensional commitment: Soberly (to self), Righteously (to neighbor), and Godly (to God). This comprehensive, holistic standard is motivated entirely by the fact that we are "looking for that blessed hope."

Hope Purifies.

Walking in sin, worldliness, and casual behaviour is a direct result of losing consciousness of Christ's imminent return. If you truly believe the King is about to arrive, your life will immediately enter a state of preparedness.

Think of it in practical terms: If you knew Jesus was coming back next Tuesday, would you live this week differently? Would you settle that dispute? Would you forgive that person? Would you stop indulging in that secret sin? Would you be more generous with your time and money? That is the power of this hope.

“Every man that hath this hope... purifieth himself.” (1 John 3:3)

It’s not that God magically zaps you with purity; it's that the hope itself motivates you to partner with the Holy Spirit in your own sanctification. The certainty of seeing Him—and the understanding that we will be made like Him when we see Him—is the greatest incentive to become like Him now. We yearn to be presentable when the Groom arrives. Hope of imminent return is the spiritual detergent that drives us to clean up our act. 

Hope Motivates.

The grace of God, which brought us salvation, is an active tutor. It is teaching us "how to live while we wait." We are not waiting idly in a spiritual holding bay.

The promise of Christ's return compels us to actively deny the three temptations that constantly battle for our hearts:

1. Denying Ungodliness: This addresses our upward relationship. We deny all that is contrary to the nature of God.
2. Denying Worldly Lusts: This addresses our inward relationship. We deny the cravings of the flesh for power, possessions, and pleasure.
3. Living Soberly, Righteously, and Godly: This is the positive motivation—the doing instead of the denying.

We live this disciplined life because we are "looking for that blessed hope." The ultimate, glorious conclusion of our story is not a distant philosophical point; it is the engine that drives our daily choices. We are running the race, not just to finish, but to look good for the grand arrival of the Spectator who is also the Prize.

Hope Comforts.

We are surrounded by the somber realities of life: sickness, loss, decay, and the goriness of the grave. But the hope of Christ's return completely re-frames our view of the future.

We don't look forward to the grave; we look up to His coming.

The hope of the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ is "blessed" ($\mu\alpha\kappa\acute{\alpha}\rho\iota\omicron\varsigma$ - makarios). This Greek word means supremely blessed, happy, or highly favored. This is a hope that brings deep joy and peace. It fills us with awe and admiration, setting all of life's painful circumstances into proper context. The ultimate "The King is coming!" is the comfort that anchors us when the winds of this life threaten to tear us apart.

Our hope for the future is not based on a belief in our own strength to endure, but on the certainty that He is coming back for us.