Today we continued our study on faith, by taking a slightly deeper dive into what faith serves to support which is our HOPE.
In the Bible, Hope is defined as a favorable expectation… the opposite of which would be fear or dread. Both are anticipations of future realities which are not yet realized. The differences being their source AND the fact that Biblical hope is favorable whereas fear is obviously negative.
Traditionally, biblical hope is understood as that which we can rightly expect from God and this is ascertained from His Holy word.
There IS however another source of Hope – it still originates from God, but it comes from what he have learned of God and His character over time. King David serves as a tremendous example of this and so today we referenced several Psalms as well as Samuel which provided scriptural proof that such is a valid, if not an even more valuable source of Hope in the life of a believer because it is rooted in relationship!
An example of this is when David faced Goliath with his Faith FIRMLY supporting his expectation of God’s intervention. He said to Saul, “The Lord Who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear WILL deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
It wasn’t pride, it wasn’t presumption, it was a favorable expectation in his God BASED upon His deliverances in the past!
Continue reading
