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episode 147: We Have Come This Far by Faith: Part 5, Hope in Three Dimensions
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Romans 15:13 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.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
We usually think about hope in one way or one dimension. We understand hope as something that people need who are struggling and feeling hopeless. Thank God that when we struggle, there is hope to sustain us. When life does not makes sense and hope seems lost, there is a great hope from God to lift us up.
Hope is more than a survival strategy. Hope is not only for the hopeless. Hope gives substance to faith. Hope is a picture. Hope is a sustaining power from the Spirit of God. Jesus is the true hope giver.
The Biblical Greek definition of hope simply means, “An expectation.” (noun); “To anticipate” (verb).
A modern dictionary definition of Hope: 1) a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, 2) grounds for believing that something good may happen
I want to suggest that there are three dimensions, or aspects, of hope: 1) Expectation, 2) Desire, and 3) Purpose.