The Deep End

The Certain Hope

Christians can experience great power through the in-dwelling presence of the Holy Ghost. He can empower us in ministry, in prayer, in understanding the Bible, in preaching the Truth, and in forgiving and loving one another.

One area, though, which is often overlooked, is the power of the Holy Ghost in helping us to have hope. Biblical hope is not the “hope” of the world. The world’s hope is a well-wishing uncertainty: “I forgot my umbrella; I sure hope it doesn’t rain today.” The Bible’s hope is a looking-forward with longing to that which is sure to come:

That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

Hebrews 6:18-19, emphasis added

In fact, the Holy Ghost calls our God “the God of hope.”

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Romans 15:13

To “abound” means to “overflow” or “to exceed that which can be measured.” There should be an attitude of both certainty and expectation among Christians: certainty that our Lord is our steadfast hope, and expectation that He can go beyond anything we have known or seen before.