Romans 8:24
Romans 8:24
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Have you ever dreamed of something you were excited about, and all you knew you needed was to wait patiently? That’s what hope is. It is the belief that something you anticipate will come. You needed hope because what you desired wasn’t present at the moment. When you have a car, and you’re right behind the wheel, you don’t go on hoping you have a car. But when you’ve paid for a new car, and the shipping company says it will come in 7 days, then you may need to hope they deliver on their word. Why? You haven’t seen it yet, but believe it will come. That’s the same way hope in Christ plays out. When we have hope in the eternal salvation to which we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, we wait patiently for something that is to come. It means there is a part of reality we haven’t experienced yet. There is so much to be hopeful for. Now, we may not see everything working flawlessly, but the promise is that when Christ comes, sickness, pain, poverty, lack, and every manifestation of evil will dissipate. In this, our hope must remain steadfast as we anticipate the coming of the King of kings.
Jeremiah 3:14
Return, faithless people, declares the Lord, for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.
Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Acts 5:31
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
James 4:9
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.