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Hoping or Having Hope

 Do we know that we are saved now, or do we only hope we are? I frequently hear people say they hope they will go to heaven one day, but I know I am going. 

 

But some like to point out that the New Testament uses the word hope in association with our salvation; Titus 3:7, for example, speaks of “the hope of eternal life.” It is important that we understand what hope means.

 

When believers speak of hope we are not using it as a verb (“I sure hope so!”). We are using it as a noun. Hope is not something we do, it is something we have. Hope is an intangible object we possess in our spirit, something in the future that we are so sure of now that it is thought of as a done deal.

 

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Unbelief begins weeping for the funeral before the man is dead; why should not faith commence piping before the dance of victory begins?” 

 

Hope is like faith. For the child of God, the dance of victory has not yet begun, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start playing the music today. Our hope means we get to live right now with a firm belief in what lies ahead. 

 

The author of Hebrews wrote in 6:19-20, “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf…” 

 

This hope we have is comparable to an anchor, sure and steadfast, holding the vessel secure in the midst of the tempest. When the storms of life rock the boat, we are secure because the anchor holds. When I miss my loved ones that have passed on, or when I am frustrated by the seeming triumph of evil, or when I am simply homesick for a land I have never seen, I am grounded by my hope. 

 

My hope is settled because of the object of my hope. If I were trusting in my good works to get me there, I would be in bad shape. My hope is settled in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, so it is a sure thing.

 

I know that heaven is real, and I will be there someday. I don’t hope so, I know so, because I have this hope like an anchor. 

 

When it comes to heaven, are you hoping, or do you have hope?

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