The Case For Hope Bible Study

We constantly speak in hope language:

• “I hope my company does well.”
• “I hope he isn’t mad at me.”
• “I hope God really does answer prayer.”
• “I sure hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.”
• “I hope this sickness isn’t something serious.”

If you are a human being, you hope. You attach your security, your sense of peace and rest to something every day. The question is not whether you hope, but what holds your hope. Take a moment to think about hope with me:

1. You hope in something. You could argue that the life of a human being is propelled by hope. From the little momentary hope of the young child for food or a toy to the profound hope of the young adult for meaning and purpose, we all hope. We all place our hope in someone or something, and we ask that person or that thing to deliver something to us. What are you placing your hope in right now?
2. Hope is a lifestyle. Your hope shapes the way you live. Your hope causes you to make the decisions that you make. A lack of hope causes you to feel stuck and de-motivated. Confident hope makes you decisive and courageous. Wobbly hope makes you timid and indecisive. Hope is not just something you do with your brain. You always live your hope in some way.
3. Most of our hopes disappoint us. We all do it. We place our hope in things in this fallen world that simply can’t deliver. Your spouse can’t make you happy. Your job won’t make you content. Your possessions can’t satisfy your heart. Your physical health won’t give you inner peace. Your friends can’t give you meaning and purpose. When our hopes disappoint us, it is a sign that we’ve put our hopes in the wrong things.
4. There are only two places to look for hope. The theology of hope is quite simple. There are only two places to put your hope. You rest the hope of your life in the hands of the Creator or you look to the creation for hope.
5. Hope in God is sure hope. When you hope in the Lord, you not only hope in the One who created and controls the universe, but also in One who is glorious in grace and abounding in love. Now, that’s hope that is well placed and will never disappoint.

Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 224.