THREE KINDS OF HOPE

In the midst of this Coronavirus it is important that people have HOPE.  Hope is the “confident expectation of what God has promised.”  In studying hope, one source listed three kinds of hope.

1.​Wishful Hope / False Hope

​When people buy a lottery ticket, they have a hope that they will win.  The odds of ​winning are pretty slim according to the internet.  “The odds of winning both ​jackpots for more than a billion dollars comes out to 1 in 88 quadrillion” (this is ​including power ball).  Someone said, “You’re more likely to be struck by lightning than ​win the lottery.  This is all “false hope”.

2.​Expectant Hope / There is some basis for this hope.

​If you go out and plant some flower seeds, you can say with some basis, “I hope they ​sprout.”  This is because you actually did something…you planted some seeds.  If a ​woman says, “I’m expecting”, there is reason for hope because a baby is growing ​inside of her.  There is no guarantee the baby will be born because of the pain of ​miscarriage.   Expectant hope is not a sure thing.

3.​Certain Hope / An Assurance it will happen.

​In the New Testament there is a book called Hebrews, whose author is unknown.  In ​chapter six certain hope is expressed, “So God has given us both his promise and his ​oath…God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God ​to lie we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.  ​We ​have this hopeas an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”  Heb. 6:18-19  Hope is a ​reference of our salvation through Jesus Christ, which is an ANCHOR for our soul.

​An anchor keeps the ship from drifting and gives stabilityduring storms.  We all are ​going to go through winds and waves that disrupt our lives. Fear of the Coronavirus, ​financial pressure, moral problems, ethical problems, marriage and children ​issues can be huge difficulties to overcome.  May I encourage you to go to Jesus and ​the principles He taught, to be the anchor for your life.  His principles bring certain ​hope, and can be found in Matthew 5-7!