Esther asked: “What is hope? What does it mean to have hope? How does one come to have hope?”

I really like the way the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament defines the Old Testament idea of hope. Hope is expecting something good. It is related to trust and yearning, but is very different from fear. According to Ecclesiastes 9:4, hope is associated with life. That is, so long as there is life, there is hope!

“The life of the righteous is grounded in a hope that implies a future because its point of reference is God. To hope is to trust. It is demanded even in good times. It is not our own projection but confidence in what God will do. God is our hope (Jer. 17:7).”

The idea is that things are messed up now, but in the “eschatological future” things will be as they should be… because of God, that is. Hope is fundamentally a statement of belief in God’s character, purpose, and love for us. It is fulfilled in the new creation.

I was having difficulty nailing down the difference between hope and faith. Martin Luther, in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians to the rescue:

Faith and hope are so closely linked that they cannot be separated. Still there is a difference between them.

First, hope and faith differ in regard to their sources. Faith originates in the understanding, while hope rises in the will.

Secondly, they differ in regard to their functions. Faith says what is to be done. Faith teaches, describes, directs. Hope exhorts the mind to be strong and courageous.

Thirdly, they differ in regard to their objectives. Faith concentrates on the truth. Hope looks to the goodness of God.

Fourthly, they differ in sequence. Faith is the beginning of life before tribulation. (Hebrews 11.) Hope comes later and is born of tribulation. (Romans 5.)

Fifthly, they differ in regard to their effects. Faith is a judge. It judges errors. Hope is a soldier. It fights against tribulations, the cross, despondency, despair, and waits for better things to come in the midst of evil.

Without hope faith cannot endure. On the other hand, hope without faith is blind rashness and arrogance because it lacks knowledge. Before anything else a Christian must have the insight of faith, so that the intellect may know its directions in the day of trouble and the heart may hope for better things. By faith we begin, by hope we continue.

I was pondering all this when I ran across a quotation from Heretics by G.K. Chesterton in the blog Every Thought Captive. I had forgotten it entirely, I think!

Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances which we know to be desperate. It is true that there is a state of hope which belongs to bright prospects and the morning; but that is not the virtue of hope. The virtue of hope exists only in earthquake and, eclipse.

And later, this:

For practical purposes it is at the hopeless moment that we require the hopeful man, and the virtue either does not exist at all, or begins to exist at that moment. Exactly at the instant when hope ceases to be reasonable it begins to be useful.

Well, I’m not sure that hope is necessarily cheerful, but I think whatever it is, it is in spite of immediate circumstances. The whole idea of hope hinges on the fact that the moment seems hopeless!

I’m working through the thought that faith is fundamentally a matter of reason and hope a matter of the will. I understand the point, but wonder if faith and hope may not be a gift. Of course, faith is listed as a gift of the spirit. I wonder of hope is not there with faith, as a gift. As Luther says, they cannot be separated. In my case, I believe I have the gift of faith. It is a pure gift. I mean to say that it is based upon no particular characteristic of my personality or talents. It is, rather, based upon the fact that God has spoken to me. So I have faith regarding that which he has spoken. It has not been based upon circumstances or my discernment of potential. It is, purely and simply, from clarity in what God has said and rooted in my experience of him.

(Aside: humanly speaking, hope is related to discernment of circumstances. That is, we look at the wreckage that causes us doubt about the future, and see potential for change that is reason for hope. Christian hope is not in seeing such potential; it is in seeing God and trusting him.)

How does one get hope? Fundamentally, I don’t think we can get this kind of hope on our own. Jesus is the one who said “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” God draws us to Jesus, we respond in faith, and hope is born. I don’t see hope in the Christian sense outside of that. Once we are in Christ, then we come to know him and love him and hope is the natural result. Losing ultimate hope would be akin to doubting Christ and his love for us. Hope is knowing that because Jesus is Lord and because he loves us that things will turn out right even when we can see no reason (other than him) to think this will be the outcome.

Just to complete the circuit, it seems appropriate to note that praying and fasting would be a good Christian response to starting to doubt – losing hope. As hope diminishes, prayer and fasting may lead us back into his presence, and thereby into hope. There is no guarantee that one’s subjective perception of hope will increase – just a seeking after the Lord. When we experience him, hope returns. Sometimes it may be after a “dark night of the soul”; I’ll leave writing on that to others more experienced than I. And prayer and fasting is an appropriate response to desperate situations even when we retain ultimate hope in Christ. We may still go to him for hope regarding what comes in this life.