In 420 A.D., Augustine wrote a manual for the Christian faith. He grounded his guide in the triad of faith, hope and love.[1] The entire work describes how “God should be worshipped in faith, hope, love” as it answers the question: “What should be believed, what should be hoped for, and what should be loved?”[2] […]
Paul makes this important statement in one of his letters, “our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:21). Eagerly waiting for Christ is one element of the Christian life and vocation. He sums this up in his letter to Corinth as he describes […]
We put our finger on a core problem when we speak about hopelessness. It is a deeper issue than we thought. It is more pervasive than we imagined. It is multi-faceted and shows up in ways we didn’t anticipate. Jurgen Moltmann makes this astute observation about hopelessness. Hopelessness can assume two forms: it can be […]
Hope is built upon the promises of God. Many of these promises are future oriented. Most of them feel like a contradiction. God says you are forgiven, you feel unforgivable. God declares you righteous, all you see is unrighteousness. God guarantees heaven, hell’s possibility shakes you. The unseen nature of hope creates tension with what […]
Hopelessness often creates a cloud around its victim. Self-awareness lessens as we experience despair and lack of purpose. When we are struggling we need feedback those who know us best, the voice of a trusted friend is critical for objectivity and grounding. Self-assessment can be valuable as well. The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is a […]
Paul announces that Jesus Christ is our hope (1 Tim 1:1). Parallel to those passages in the Old Testament where those who hope are not put to shame, Paul says hope does not disappoint us (Rom 5:5). The reason is that we already have a taste of the future glory because of the love with […]
The following is a helpful devotional on the connection between being filled with the Holy Spirit and hope. It was written by John Piper. Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4) How can we be […]
As we begin our transition from hopelessness to hope, recall research that kicked off this exploration. We saw the significant impact of hopelessness on every facet of our existence. Let’s take a look on research regarding hope. Researchers have identified significant benefits of hope. Studies have shown that hope leads to life satisfaction, positive mental […]
Hopelessness is a mighty force. We reject the promise of God for peace, hope and salvation and exhaust ourselves trying to relieve our hopelessness. We devise our own plans for getting hope. I will find hope in a relationship. I will find it in a job. I will find it in possessions. I will find […]
Theology must find feet, it must bleed. We must always ask the ever-relevant question, so what? Why does any of this matter? How does this help us at all? How does an accurate biblical understanding of hopelessness change things for us. Jurgen Moltmann is correct, “as long as hope does not embrace and transform the […]
