“Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me hope.” – {Psalm 119:49}.

  •  Note, he does not appeal to his work “Remember my work,” But “Remember the word…which You have made me hope.” He appeals to God and His Word. It causes Hope in times of affliction. -{v 49}.. causes comfort in his affliction -{v 50}; It gladdens the believers pilgrimage.-{v 54-56}.

God’s Word to Him caused hope to be birthed in him.

Often we think of “hope” as a “wish so,”a desire with no guarantees, a longing, but riddled with uncertainty, fears, anxieties, and a deep desire to be in control and live primarily for self and not others. But Biblical hope is “confident expectation” trust, and draws strength from the character of God and His Word to fulfill what He has promised. It is based on HIS  ability, integrity, and faithfulness to do as He promises.

Biblical Hope, is “‘confident expectation,” In God. The strength of hope in God’s ability and RELIABILITY To fulfill All His Promises!

Paul would write later, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”-{Romans 15:4}. One reason God has given and preserved His Word is to encourage us “SO THAT”… we might have… HOPE! Note, that this verse gives three truths, namely,

1.- All Scripture has been given for our instruction, teaching.

2.-The Scriptures have been given for our perseverance and encouragement.

3.-The Scriptures have been given with the intent to produce and sustain hope within us!

It is present tense which emphasizes that “we might keep on having hope.” We are to continually have hope, as the practice, pattern, lifestyle. The Holy Spirit through The Scriptures, enlightens, energizes us, inspires, and births hope in us. The Scriptures bring about transformation.-{Read Rom 12:2}. This hope, “confident expectation,” of some good will be obtained.

Hope in Scripture is the absolute certainty of a good future. Hope speaks of “confident expectation,” in Him, His Word, of something good that He will fulfill! It is a forward look!

His “hope” in Romans 15:4 is associated with the intake of God’s Word. Hope for us in times of hurt, trials, suffering, the hardships of life, through hearing, submitting, and applying His Word. “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! “-{2 Cor 4:17 NLT}. Troubles are temporal, eternity is forever. Looking beyond the severe trials he experienced, Paul looked ahead, beyond this life to a future with God!  A Hope of a future good. An eternal Hope!

Hopelessness looks to the here and now, at the difficulty and concludes, the problem is too much and sinks low into despair.

Hope looks to God and says,  all things are possible…with Him. The “Hope” that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are the called…”-{Rom 8;28}.

His Word illumined by His Spirit produces Hope in us, which is the antidote to despair, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.” -{Psalm 43:5}. Hope of a better future, guaranteed by God.

“The Christian is always a realist, but never a pessimist. The Christian hope is not a cheap hope. It is not the immature hope which is optimistic because it does not see the difficulties and has not encountered the experiences of life. It might be thought that hope is the prerogative of the young; but the great artists did not think that. When Watts drew “Hope” he drew her as a battered and bowed figure with one string left upon her lyre. The Christian hope has seen everything and endured everything, and still has not despaired, because it believes in God. It is not hope in the human spirit, in human goodness, in human achievement; it is hope in the power of God.”-{Barclay}.

“The God of Hope,” – (Rom 15:13} has given us His Word to inspire, cultivate, and sustain hope within us. Hope sustains us in trials, keeps us from despondency, or if we are there, then lifts us out of there and gives a future hope, a forward look of the good of being with Him forever! So you can see why the evil one, the flesh, and the world’s value system would tempt us to stay away or divert from His Word as it is God’s means to encourage us that we may have…Hope.

Paul said “Let the WORD OF CHRIST Richly dwell in you…”-{Col 3:16}. The Psalmist says of the “blessed” one is characterized by “his delight is in the Law of the LORD and in it meditates day and night.”-{Psalm 1:2}. He or she occupies their thought life by feeding their thought life on HIS WORD so as to renew their mind,-{Rom 12:2} influencing their choices. Paul said, “whatever is true…let your mind dwell on these things.”-{Phil 4:8}… and in verse 9 he says to “practice” what you have seen and heard! God’s Word is His gift of love to encourage you that you may have confident assurance of His Hope!

The world’s use of the word “hope” often is no more than an uncertainty laced with fear and anxiety, a “hope so,” but no certainty where as Biblical “Hope,” is the “confident expectation,” the assurance of a future good being fulfilled by our Faithful God in accordance with His Word!

Biblical “Hope” is a certainty, a reality and not based on a “feeling,” or “circumstances” which can change as there is no constancy, firm ground for “hope.”

Biblical “hope,” has no doubts! For it’s Hope is in God, His character, Word, promises!

A Christian’s Hope is the certainty, the confident expectation that what God says, will come to pass because God has promised it will happen!