Waiting in HOPE
Biblical HOPE means trusting in God's character despite our circumstances.
Have you ever found yourself waiting for something?
Anticipating the future?
Giddy and excited about something that is yet to come?
We call this HOPE.
It’s essential for human existence…and a fundamental concept in the Bible.
To get us started, here’s a great video from the BibleProject.com —
So, in the Old Testament, two words give us a glimpse into the meaning and purpose of HOPE.
The first is yakhal, which means “to wait for,” like Noah waiting for the earth to dry out (Genesis 8). Noah had to yakhal for a long time until the dry land reappeared, and they could resume their lives on solid ground.
Have you found yourself yakhal-ing recently?
What are you hoping for, waiting for, and expecting to come about?
The second word is qavah, which is like the tension produced when you stretch a rubber band—the potential energy stored in the rubber band longing to be resolved. The tension and pressure bring some stress, along with the HOPE that, in time, the tension will be resolved.
Have you found yourself in the tension of qavah-ing?
What stress are you feeling as you HOPE and wait?
Throughout the Old Testament—from Job to the Psalmist and throughout the prophets—the people of God yakhal and qavah for God’s blessing, protection, and rescue. With great anticipation, they HOPE for the time when God will move. In particular, they wait for the arrival of the promised Messiah.
This HOPE is seen clearly in the well-known hymn of Charles Wesley—
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
HOPE of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
HOPE in the Bible is not just a sunny outlook
HOPE in the Bible is not the same as optimism or a sunny outlook. It’s not rose-colored glasses or choosing to see the glass half full. This is how we often use the word HOPE in modern English. We HOPE things will turn out well. In these cases, HOPE is based on circumstances and uncertainty— wishing for a positive outcome that will match one’s desires but not wholly convinced such an outcome will come to be.
What do you wish for?
In which circumstances of your life do you desire change?
Where is your hope?
In the Bible, HOPE is based not on circumstances but on a person. Even when there is no evidence of things turning out well or going our way, we choose HOPE regardless. We place our HOPE in God.
At a time when foreign powers were oppressing Israel, the prophets chose HOPE, echoed in the haunting Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanual” —
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Jesus is our Living HOPE
The early followers of Jesus put their HOPE in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—the one who would, in time, be seen to be God’s unexpected answer to the HOPE of Israel from ages past.
The empty tomb revealed a new HOPE — elpis, in the Greek. In Christ, there is
living HOPE,
HOPE of glory,
HOPE that in Christ people can be reborn, renewed, and recreated into a new kind of people.
This elpis is based on the reality of a person, the risen Messiah, who overcame sin and death. This hope was not for humanity alone but represented a glimpse of all God has willed for the universe — that “creation itself will be set free from slavery to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of God’s children” (Rom 8:21, CEB).
Those who are in Christ have been saved and transformed in Christ.
Those who are in Christ are being saved and transformed in Christ.
Those who are in Christ live in the expectation, tension, and HOPE of being saved and transformed—a HOPE of ultimate glory in Christ.
The Christian HOPE is bold. Could it be true that not only I but the entirety of the universe is to be rescued from the shackles of evil, sin, and death?
This is the Christian hope—a choice to yakhal, qavah, and elpis for God to work to bring about a future that might seem as unlikely as a crucified Messiah. We look back on what Christ has done to wait in hope for what is to come!
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