Hope and Faith in Action

The writer of Hebrews tells us at the beginning of what is popularly called the “Faith Chapter” that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, English Standard Version).

Faith is described as confidence, while hope is described as an expectation of something unseen, presumably because it has not yet come to pass. In this introduction to the Faith Chapter, then, we see faith and hope as separate aspects of Christian character that work together.

Simply put, hope is anticipation, and faith is trust in God.

Hope focuses on the future. It lies in the expectation of something coming to pass. It is directed toward the object of our expectations.

Biblical faith, on the other hand, is belief and trust in God, the One who can fulfill those expectations. Faith is founded on God—who He is now, what He has done and what He has promised. He is the One who makes our future hopes possible.

As Christians, we can have hope in what most people see as unrealistic or impossible because we place our faith in God the Father and in Jesus the Son.

Moving mountains through faith

However, we must be careful with our hopes and our faith. We must be sure that our hopes are based on God’s promises, not on something God would view as working against His plans. And we must firmly place our faith in God Himself, not in some particular outcome or sequence of events.

Christians can have hope in abundance, because we have a faithful God. We must carefully consider what is truly promised in God’s Word. For instance, immediately after Jesus told His disciples to “have faith in God” (Mark 11:22), He told them that if they did not doubt, they could cast mountains into the sea (verse 23). Did Jesus intend us to actually move mountains?

There is no historical record of anyone casting mountains into the sea. And we have no reason to do so. Clearly, Jesus did not intend for His disciples to take His words literally, but figuratively. What He was telling them was that through their belief in God, they could perform the mighty deeds necessary to fulfill His will.

Reading through Acts, we see many figurative mountains being cast into the sea. For example, Peter’s faith in God enabled Dorcas to be brought back to life (Acts 9:36-42). Likewise, Paul’s faith in God enabled the resurrection of Eutychus (Acts 20:7-12).

The key is God’s will.

Our hopes will never come to fruition if they are not according to God’s will. But they cannot fail if they stand upon God’s promises and are accompanied by real faith in Him.

Why it’s important to understand hope and faith

Some people think of faith as merely believing that what they want will come to pass. This concept is not biblical, and it can lead to disappointment.

Our faith must always be in God and Christ, not in the fulfillment of some specific hope. Faith is in the character of God.

Hope, on the other hand, is what we anticipate and desire. Our desires can be selfish or reasonable. Our hope can be misguided or biblical. When hopes don’t materialize, people often feel betrayed by God. But they may not have considered whether their hope was biblical, that is, according to God’s will.

To hope to win the lottery, for example, is a hope, but not a biblical hope based on God’s promises. In fact, this hope may very well be opposed to God’s will and plan for your life. Such a hope is misguided.

Even when our hopes are more reasonable, they may not fit with God’s will. It’s reasonable to believe that God will bless us with a better job or a new home. It’s reasonable that He will help us find that special someone to marry. These are reasonable hopes, but they are not guaranteed.

That’s because God does not promise these things. These are hopes that may or may not align with God’s will in specific circumstances. They should not be the objects of faith.

The object of our faith is God Himself. We trust Him regardless of whether our prayers are answered as we want, whether our hopes come to pass or whether we understand what He is doing in our lives.

Hope and faith for the Christian

The world today is fast losing hope. When we look around at the state of the world, it’s easy to see why so many people are fearful rather than hopeful. Wars are springing up everywhere. The world seems to be on the brink of an economic depression. There is talk of disease pandemics.

Christians, on the other hand, can have hope in abundance, because we have a faithful God.

We can be inspired by the words in a letter the prophet Jeremiah wrote to his fellow countrymen who had been taken in chains to Babylon. These were dark days for the people of ancient Judah. There seemed to be no hope.

God, however, directed Jeremiah to write to them, saying, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Although Jeremiah wrote these words to people who lived more than 2,500 years ago, they still resonate with Christians today. Our faith is in God, who has promised us “a future and a hope.”