Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, mend your ways, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NASB)
At our youth retreat in the fall of 2023 our theme was hope. We talked about the difference in how we often use the word hope compared to the Bible meaning of the word.
I hope the Cardinals get to the post-season.
I hope they have my favorite kind of ice cream for dessert.
I hope this newly elected official can turn things around.
I hope to have enough money for a new car by next year.
I hope no one gets sick over the holidays.
I hope I get to go to heaven when I die.
With all of these there is an expressed desire, but not necessarily an expectation.
The Bible use of the word is more like the way we talk about things that are already planned out. For example, if I buy plane tickets and book an AirBnB, I wouldn’t say that I’m hoping to go on vacation. I would say I am going on vacation. This is hope with expectation.
Of course, in this scenario James would warn us to say, “If the Lord wills we shall.. do this or that,” (James 4:15). God hasn’t promised that I’ll make my flight on time or that I won’t get sick and be unable to travel. I’m not in control, and there are things that could happen to interrupt my plans for a vacation. But He has promised me that as a believer I will have eternal life. My hope as a Christian is not just a wish on a star; it is not based on my own planning; it is based on the promise of God, and that’s a promise you can take to the bank (Hebrews 6:13-18).
But this is also why I still have anxiety at times— even when I’ve prayed; even though I have absolute faith that God has all power and is in control. Christian hope is based on promises, and the fact is, God has not promised to keep my kids safe, to protect me from cancer, to save my community from violence, or even that there will be ice cream for dessert. We’re guaranteed struggle, hardship, and even persecution, but we’re not guaranteed tomorrow.
But.
He has said that He “has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind,” (2 Timothy 1:7). He has said that “all things work together for good to those who love [Him],” (Romans 8:28). And He has indicated that He, “the Lord of peace himself, [can] give [me] his peace at all times and in every situation,” (2 Thessalonians 3:16 NLT).
Somewhere between doubt and assurance there is peace.
I know that God loves His children. I know He wants what’s best for us. Furthermore I know that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working,” (James 5:16 ESV). The Bible has many examples of God listening to the petitions of good people and granting their requests. In praying for things that are not promised, I acknowledge that God is capable of providing them, and like a child asking a father for something, I have to trust that God will work things out for good.
We live in a fallen world. God isn’t going to make it an Eden for any of us because that just isn’t how it is when there’s sin in the world. Even with faith and hope, sometimes anxiety remains. But God has made promises that give us peace and keep us hopeful. Satan wants to control me through anxiety. I have to seek instead to be filled by God “with all joy and peace in believing, that [I] may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,” (Romans 15:13).
Today may you also abound in hope! “Be comforted… live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you,” (2 Corinthians 13:11 NASB).
Dear Heavenly Father, help me to trust in all of Your promises and to find joy and peace in believing. Help me not to give in to fear of the bad things that could happen, but to live in expectant hope, not just of eternal salvation through Christ, but of Your blessings in my daily life. Thank you for hearing my prayers and for working in my life for good. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
by Christie Cole Atkins
Related Reading:
We’re Not In Paradise Anymore, Toto
Walk Worthy 