The God of Hope

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Rom 15:13). An interpretation and application for everyday life.

Hinduism requires about 6,000 gods to convey a little hope, which then comes to nothing. In the best-case scenario, Buddhism’s highest hope ends in Nirvana; that is, total dissolution or non-existence. Muslims place their hope in an unpredictable god who provides no certainty, and instead can throw them into hell in the end, despite all their efforts. People in the Western world put their hope in good luck charms such as four-leaf clovers or rabbit’s feet. And many people today think that our hope lies in a radical diet, a carbon-neutral lifestyle, or the militant fight against climate change.

Philosopher Rene Scheu is quoted as saying: “Those who believe in God bid farewell to cheap rescue fantasies and doctrines of practicality. Because they trust that they are redeemed (that is, freed from every evil and having eternal life). So, who’s more enlightened here? Those who believe in God and humbly work on themselves, keeping hope alive that everything will be made right in the end despite everything? Or the self-righteous ones who believe they can redeem themselves, who look down on everyone who isn’t convinced like they are that the world will perish without them?”

One way hope is defined online is a belief or expectation of a desired future event, with no certainty that it will actually happen. The God of the Bible—revealed in Jesus—is very different, as we see in Romans 15:13:

“Now the God of hope…”

It doesn’t say “a God of hope,” but “the God of hope.” Only one God actually imparts hope. Therefore, where God is not, there is no hope. “That at that time ye were without Christ … having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12).

Perhaps there are survival strategies that have nothing to do with God, but no lasting hope that wards off despair and carries us through it all. As bitter a truth as it is, the things that can’t save us in death can’t save us in life either.

Only the Creator knows every circumstance down to the smallest detail. He is the only One who knows every soul to its furthest corners. And He is the only One who knows every need. All the religions and ideologies I mentioned before have something in common: They cause fear, give no assurance, and offer no hope.

What use is the perfect wind if you don’t know where you want to sail? “They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed” (Job 6:20). But it’s completely different with the God of hope. He bears that name because He offers hope with a glorious outlook that carries us through. Hope that comes from God is like a bridge that leads to the other side, or a sign that shows us the way to our destination.

Biblical hope is founded on the existence of God, the God of hope. It’s true that He exists, and the hope He offers is just as true. The Apostle Peter calls it “living hope” because it’s grounded in the resurrection of Jesus, which “hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet 1:3b). It is as alive as Jesus is, and it is stored up for us in heaven. Jesus is the guarantee of our hope.

“Fill you…”

Everyone is seeking fulfillment. And where it’s missing, there is emptiness, meaninglessness, and futility. Humanity’s history is characterized by great longing, and every addiction is an expression of this longing. People are looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places … reaching for anything and everything that could possibly provide it. But it’s a reach into the void unless they’re reaching for God. They’ll take to the streets instead of depending on the Lord Jesus.

There are many popular movies and TV shows with the premise of someone leaving their old life behind and starting over in a new city, where they find the community, fulfillment, and love they’ve always wanted. But in reality, this scenario rarely works out as hoped. People burn bridges behind them and find themselves far from home, alone and disappointed. Problems ensue, and the hoped-for personal fulfillment instead becomes a nightmare.

But what is the fulfillment that Jesus gives?

“With all joy…”

On the joy that the world offers, Dr. Klaus Eickhoff writes: “Human beings are created for joy […] We reach for it, possess it, and are in good spirits. But at some point, it slips away from us. What remains is lamentation for the lost joy. […] It is like a beautiful fire by which a person warms themselves. But slowly the fire dies down, and the person stands there and freezes […] The joys of our lives are too small to truly delight us” (“Diagnosis Hope,” ed. by Hartmut Jaeger, pp. 76, 78-79).

Why does man have no lasting joy? Because sin robs us of it. That’s why we live in a broken world, in a world of chaos, in a world devoid of joy and peace. The writer Curt Goetz said, “We are learned enough. What we lack is joy. What we need is hope. What we require is confidence.”

When Jesus was born, the shepherds were told, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy…” (Luke 2:10). Some 33 years later on the eve of His death, Jesus prayed this hopeful prayer: “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13). This isn’t some spontaneous, emotional, fleeting joy, but His joy.

Jesus is the incarnate wisdom of God, through whom all things were created. This wisdom says of itself, “Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him” (Prov 8:30).

The joy that Jesus had—the complete, constant joy in Him—endures even in times of crisis. It is a joy that sustains, a joyful confidence that Jesus had in His heavenly Father. A joy in eternal glory ... joy in the forgiveness that our Lord accomplished on our behalf, even though He had no need of it Himself. It is His joy in perfect hope, and should be yours as well.

As Erik Junker writes:

“Your joy must be in Jesus—

He alone is the source of joy,

Perfect joy that never fades,

That transcends the changing of time.”

“And peace in believing…”

Where there’s joy, there is peace as well. Actor Denzel Washington is a professing Christian. When asked what success meant to him, he replied, “Success? I don’t know what that word means. I’m happy. But success, that goes back to what in somebody’s eyes success means. For me, success is inner peace.”

What does this peace consist of? In the certainty that our Savior lives, and is making everything right in the end. In the midst of his suffering, Job testified, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25). Jesus will be the last man standing. His work of redemption outlasts all of time’s changes, triumphing in the end. When all temptations have come to an end ... when every demonic prince has been eliminated ... when everything godless has conceded defeat ... and when suffering and sorrow are over, Jesus will still be standing and will be exalted above everything.

In the CSB, the second part of Job 19:25 is translated, “at the end he will stand on the dust.” When all else has faded to dust, the Lord remains. That’s why God draws Job’s attention to something in the midst of his distress: “her eyes behold afar off” (Job 39:29b). It’s speaking of an eagle, which can see far ahead. We should also learn from this for the wellbeing of our souls: Look beyond what’s obvious, toward the end goal.

Job later confesses, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). And we see how God achieves His purposes in everyone: Job, his friends, and his wife.

We will all have to quiet our doubts, fears, and sufferings, realizing that the Almighty has made all things well. And in the end—yes, at the very end—the Lord awaits us in His kingdom. “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 19:26-27). Through Job, God tells us that:

• Our Savior lives.

• When everything hostile to God is eliminated, the Lord is still there.

• One day, freed from our earthly bodies, we will see our Savior.

• We won’t be strangers to Him.

• And we can long for that day now. That is our hope!

However, in order to achieve this confident joy and peace, we need faith: “fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” Faith is the doorway to hope. Faith brings our hope to life. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom 5:1-2).

“That ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Where God is absent, there is no hope. But where He is present, there is hope in abundance. We become billionaires of hope in His presence! This hope consists of three words: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27b).

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of this hope. Christ moves you into God’s glory … into the infinite, eternal, unchanging glory, which no shadow could dim.