I don’t know about you, but I am ready for a break from bad news. Bernie Madoff made off with millions of dollars of other people’s money, senseless killings are an everyday occurrence, many are losing their livelihoods and homes, and stress and tension are everywhere.

No matter how strong or powerful or confident we are, we all face tough times as we live in this world. One day we feel invincible and mighty; the next, deflated, lost and scared.  If you haven’t already, you may realize that the hardest part of tough times is to hold on to hope.

I’ve been thinking a lot about hope recently and especially about how so many brilliant and successful people like Robin Williams and Kate Spade lose it and take their own lives. Why is it that amidst vicious challenges that threaten to squeeze me to a breaking point, I too haven’t given up? Simply put, it’s because I’ve been able to hold on to hope.

What is Hope?

Hope, in my opinion, is one of the most powerful and positive mindsets we can have. In everyday usage, hope is often described as a form of wishful thinking that’s differentiated from certainty. Someone says, for instance “I don’t know what’s going to happen but I hope so and so happens.”

That’s absolutely not what hope means to me. My hope, Christian hope, is trusting in a certain outcome or possibility: a confident expectation. Simply put, it says God has promised something and you can confidently place your trust in what He says because he has said it. It’s all about waiting patiently, ardently and with certainty for God’s promises to be fulfilled. Wow!

How does hope affect us?

As I look around the world today, it seems that many of the issues we buckle under in society are the result of a lack of hope. Think about it. People live for the here and now. They value earthly or material things such as power, prestige and possessions. Although they live in comfort, they lead miserable, bitter lives that lack joy and peace. They run from trials, often blaming others for their own failures. To avoid this, our hope must be secure in God.

Hope affects us on different levels: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Hope has been shown to boost your immune system reducing stress and anxiety so every day you wake up feeling positive. Those who lack hope often fall into rhythms of negative thinking and are full of resentment, pessimism and can even suffer from depression. Hope is also essential for creating self-worth, improving social relationships, motivating positive action, and broadening and building your mind, and looking forward to eternity.

How to build hope?

Our Christian faith is based on hope in Jesus. In fact, one of the key goals of Scripture is to develop and increase our hope. In 1834, Edward Mote summarized the Christian hope in his now famous hymn:

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.                                                                                                                                  I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name.                                                                                                                                    On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.

In addition, the Bible says: “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). This implies that hope, like faith is strengthened by the word of God. Hope comes from reading God precious and great promises and trusting in them. Additionally, “…

Additionally, “…everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope” (Romans 15:4, NIV).

In verse 13 of Romans 15, the Apostle Paul reminds us that God is the source of hope and He wants your hope to greatly abound or increase. He says “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The Apostle Peter also tells us that our hope is a living hope. He says “May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed! On account of his vast mercy, he has given us new birth. You have been born anew into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3, CEB).

The essence of what we look to in the Bible is to build our hope. So, let’s look away from the circumstances that confront us and look to Jesus and His promises and hold fast to them. Personally, there are three essential promises to which I hold, and by God’s grace, I never want to let go of them. I encourage you to do the same.

First, I have the hope of eternal life. Titus 1:2 says the “hope of eternal life which God who does not lie promised before the beginning of time.” Know that only in Christianity is there such a promise of a glorious life beyond the grave.

Then, there is the hope of a glorious church. Jesus promises to purify the church “that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing…” When we look at the church today, full of imperfect people, this hope might appear to be a stretch. However, know that God will complete the work he started in his people so that His church “should be holy and without blemish.”

But arguably, the most pivotal of all hope is the blessed hope of the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ at His second coming. This year, on July 20, it will be 50 years since human beings set foot on the moon. In the now famous words of Neil Armstrong “it was one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Man had successfully broken out of the bounds of earth’s atmosphere.

I admit, I’ve felt jealous of Neil Armstrong but only until I pondered more deeply the blessed hope and my trip to heaven. You see, when Jesus comes, I will hear that trumpet blast which beckons the dead saints to rise. Then, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air.

With my glorified body, I will glide past the moon (later for you Neil Armstrong) and the galaxies to the place Jesus has prepared for us. What a glorious blessed hope! Let us keep it alive. Let’s pass it on to the next generation. Most importantly, Let us never lose it or lose sight of it because he who promised is faithful.