The Hope that Brings Joy
The Hope that Brings Joy.
“Now may God, the inspiration and fountain of hope, fill you completely with joy and peace as you continue trusting in Him, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may have overflowing hope, a hope that bubbles over!” (Romans 15:13).
Joy is a Fruit of Hope. Here in this passage above we find one of St. Paul’s most effervescent blessings (“eulogia,” or good word). He is asking God to bless these Roman believers in Jesus in a particular way, that they be filled to overflowing with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul is pleading with the God of hope to release His Spirit into these believers, to pour out supernatural hope into their life of faith. Supernatural hope which can only be given by the supernatural Spirit. Supernatural hope, not natural hope… not wishful thinking that is full of uncertainty; not a pipe dream fantasy that isn’t grounded in reality; not a house of cards that will sooner or later collapse. Paul yearns instead that these believers be infused with the certain, grounded and stable expectation of being changed from within, transformed into their best self; of eagerly looking forward to what God has instore for them in this world and the next; of being truly useful for something good and lasting; of basking in the unearned love of Creator God; of being liberated from slavery to sinful tendencies; of sooner or later sharing in God’s glory as we befriend Him face to face for all eternity. Oh, and this supernatural hope includes one more epiphany…. our lives are no longer pointless, they have meaning and purpose. Our life is no longer defined by the chaos, confusion and evil we see every day. All that brokenness isn’t all that there is to life! Filled with hope, we now have a reason for our existence! It’s easy to see why this Spirit-inspired hope couldn’t help but bring us inexpressible joy. There is more than enough to celebrate as we trust in God and base our joys in life on our hope in Jesus Christ.
“Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy!” (Romans 12:12).
Hope Defined. The biblical words for hope point to being able to anticipate the future with pleasure, to welcome whatever comes next, to have confident expectations of good in one’s life. Hope is faith in the future and a deep assurance of God’s hand in whatever is coming around the corner. The Hebrew word in Scripture for hope, “tikvah,” can also mean a connecting cord. Its root word is “qavah” which means to wait, literally to weave together the strings to make an unbreakable cord. Thus in Scripture we find that occasionally the words hope and wait are somewhat interchangeable. The Greek word is “elpis,” and means much the same thing. As has been said by many, hope is faith in the future tense.
“We are God’s house as long as we keep our courage and hold firm to the end our joyful and exultant confidence and sense of triumph in our hope in Christ.” (Hebrews 3:6).
Hope Described. “Hope moves the heart of God to come to our help with His grace.” (Cantalamessa).Various descriptions of hope might include: Hope is confidently expecting a positive outcome, as opposed to despair, which is fearfully expecting a negative outcome; hope is trusting God for one’s future, as opposed to doubt, which is distrustful of God for one’s future; hope is an optimistic assurance based on reality, as opposed to wishful thinking, which is based on uncertainty; hope is a patient waiting that keeps one actively moving forward, as opposed to a frustrating resignation which passively keeps one stuck; hope is the strong inner urge to work through a difficulty and do what one can to solve it, as opposed to the inclination to avoid a difficulty and thus not solve anything; hope is the positive conviction that there is something substantial to look forward to, as opposed to one’s pessimistic belief that the future holds nothing but a bleak emptiness; hope is the anticipation of a triumphant future in the long run, as opposed to someone who doesn’t even believe in the possibility of a long run of any kind. As the ancient Church Father put it, “Hope is the loving movement of one’s spirit towards that which it hopes for.” (St. Didacus). So hope is not only a deep assurance and steadfast conviction, but also includes the object of the hope itself, the hope in the flesh, Jesus Christ, “our blessed hope” (Titus 2:13).
“What incredible joy bursts forth within us as we keep celebrating our hope of experiencing God’s glory! But that’s not all… Even in times of trouble we have a joyful confidence, knowing that our pressures will develop in us patient endurance. And patient endurance will refine our character, and proven character leads us back to hope. And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!” (Romans 5:2-5).
Wired For Hope. (a.) The virtue of hope is getting much more attention now because it is the virtue that has tended to get lost in the shuffle, lingering between those two monumental giants, Faith and Love (1 Cor. 13). Hope has been called by various theologians “the little sister” standing between two big brothers, or even “the poor relation” in a famous family. But the importance of hope has been resurrected by neuroscience, believe it or not. Brain research has uncovered the importance of hope to the degree that there is now a branch of neuroscience that is called “the science of hope.” Here we are in the 21st century, confirming that in the 1st century St. Paul was right on target when said that hope is like a helmet. We now know that the emotion of hope protects the brain, like a helmet worn on one’s head. Science has proven that our brain was made to function much more effectively when we engage in hopefulness. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul was way ahead of the game. We were created to joyfully flourish when hope leads the way in our Christian faith, our life of trusting in God and his faithfulness. A hopeful mind leads to a joyful spirit in which we are operating on all cylinders.
(b.) God constructed our mind in such a way that hope will keep us mentally healthy and efficient. With hope we are mentally stable and productive, and without hope we become mentally unstable and ineffective. Neuroscience has established that the complex emotion of hope is associated with the brain networking in the frontal cortex, where our motivation, decision-making, and higher order thinking is stimulated. Hope actually begins a chain reaction in the brain that empowers positive changes in our neurochemistry. We now know that hope releases endomorphins that increase brain connectivity that blocks pain, “dampens” the anxiety circuits, and acts as an antidepressant. Hope has a significant influence on healing and even on the aging process. And since hope helps the brain to function more effectively, hope improves the ability to learn, to think more clearly. A teacher will find her students performing much better when they are hopeful, optimistic, expectant of good things just around the corner in their education. Creator God made our brains to run best on the fuel of hope. One neuroscientist puts it this way, “Hope is as vital to the human brain as the oxygen we breathe.” (Professor Terry Small).
Hope Delayed. Perhaps we should take more literally Solomon’s observation in Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” Other translations put it this way: “Hope that gets prolonged makes us heart-sick;” “Hope put off is a weariness to the heart;” “When hope is crushed, so is the heart;” “Delayed hope torments the soul.” “Unrelenting disappointment leaves us heartsick;” “Hope that is dragged out can be depressing.” If we abandon hope, our entire way of thinking and feeling takes a downward plunge. If we become hopeless, we become heartsick, imprisoned by despair, and mentally unbalanced.
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you trust in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, and you are receiving what your trust is aiming at, namely, your deliverance.” (1 Peter 1:8-9).