READING • LAMENTATIONS 3
Christian hope is more than wishing that things will improve
In the Bible, hope is confident expectation based on the promises of God. It does not pretend that suffering, disappointment or death are unreal. It looks beyond them because God is faithful, Jesus has been raised from the dead, and God has promised a future Kingdom.
What does the Bible mean by hope?
We often use the word “hope” for something uncertain: “I hope it does not rain” or “I hope things work out”. Biblical hope is stronger. It rests on what God has promised and therefore gives a disciple a reason to endure, wait and continue in faith.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 • King James Version
Faith and hope are closely connected. Faith trusts God now; hope looks forward to the fulfilment of what God has promised. Neither is blind optimism. Both are rooted in the character and purpose of God.
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 • King James Version
The King James Version uses the word “charity” here in the sense of love. Faith, hope and love are therefore three continuing qualities in the life of a disciple.
Hope was central to the life of Jesus
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter quoted Psalm 16 and applied it to Jesus. The words speak of confidence beyond death. Jesus willingly submitted to suffering because he trusted his Father and knew that death would not be the end.
“Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:”
Acts 2:26 • King James Version
Peter goes on to explain that David’s words pointed forward to the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection is therefore at the heart of Christian hope. Our confidence does not depend on the idea that human life will somehow continue by itself; it depends on God raising the dead.
The resurrection changes everything
If Jesus had remained in the grave, Christian hope would have no foundation. Because God raised him, the promise of resurrection for those who belong to him is real and certain.
Hope in the middle of suffering
Lamentations 3 does not begin with easy circumstances. The speaker describes affliction, darkness, bitterness and a sense that hope has almost disappeared. Yet the chapter changes direction when he deliberately remembers the mercy and faithfulness of God.
“The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:24 • King James Version
“It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”
Lamentations 3:26 • King James Version
This is one of the Bible’s most practical lessons about hope. Hope does not require us to deny pain. It enables us to endure pain without concluding that God has abandoned his purpose. Sometimes the faithful response is simply to wait quietly and continue trusting him.
Hope often requires patience
Abraham is a powerful example. He was seventy-five years old when he left Haran in obedience to God. He was one hundred when Isaac was born. That meant twenty-five years of waiting between those two recorded ages.
PASSAGE
WHAT IT SHOWS
Genesis 12:4
Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Genesis 15:1-6
God renewed the promise when Abram still had no son.
Genesis 17:15-19
God made clear that Sarah would bear the promised son.
Genesis 21:5
Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac was born.
During those years Abraham did not always act perfectly, but he continued to believe God. Hope therefore does not mean that disciples never become tired or confused. It means that they continue to return to the promise and trust the One who made it.
Job: hope when life appears to have collapsed
Job experienced bereavement, loss, severe illness and the painful arguments of friends who did not understand his situation. At points his words sound almost hopeless. Yet in the middle of his distress he expressed remarkable confidence in a future beyond his present suffering.
“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:”
Job 19:25 • King James Version
Job did not know how or when his suffering would end. His hope was larger than immediate relief. He looked to God as Redeemer and to a future in which God’s purpose would be vindicated.
“The hope” became a summary of the gospel
The apostles sometimes used the word “hope” almost as a shorthand for the whole future promised in the gospel. They spoke of the hope of eternal life, the hope of salvation, the hope of glory and the hope of resurrection.
BIBLE EXPRESSION
REFERENCE
“the hope of eternal life”
Titus 3:7
“the hope of salvation”
1 Thessalonians 5:8
“the hope of glory”
Colossians 1:27
“hope toward God” in the resurrection
Acts 24:15
“And have hope toward God... that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”
Acts 24:15 (excerpt) • King James Version
This is why Christian hope is not vague. It has content. Jesus will return. The dead will be raised. Those accountable to him will be judged. The faithful will receive life, and Christ will establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth.
Hope and salvation
Paul describes salvation as something believers possess in promise but still wait to receive in its fullness. This is why he can say that we are “saved by hope”. What God has promised is certain, although it is not yet visible to us.
“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”
Romans 8:24 • King James Version
“But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”
Romans 8:25 • King James Version
Paul is not teaching that hope earns salvation. Salvation is the gift of God through Christ. Hope describes the believer’s confident expectation while waiting for the resurrection, judgement and the gift of immortality.
Hope reaches beyond this present life
Human beings rightly work to relieve suffering, improve communities and care for those in need. Such work can be very valuable. But no human organisation, government, technology or medical advance can permanently remove sin and death from the earth.
Christian hope reaches further. It expects God to complete what human beings cannot: the resurrection of the dead, the return of Jesus Christ, righteous government and ultimately the destruction of death itself.
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
1 Corinthians 15:19 • King James Version
Paul immediately continues by declaring that Christ has risen from the dead. Our hope therefore extends beyond present circumstances because it rests on resurrection.
Hope is an anchor
An anchor does not remove a storm. It gives a vessel a secure hold while the storm continues. Hebrews uses this picture for the hope given by God.
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast,”
Hebrews 6:19 (excerpt) • King James Version
This picture is especially helpful when life feels unstable. Hope cannot always change our circumstances immediately, but it can prevent fear, disappointment or grief from carrying us away from faith in God.
Hope does not make us passive
Waiting for the Kingdom does not mean doing nothing. The New Testament connects hope with holy living, perseverance, service and encouragement. A disciple who expects Christ to return has a reason to use the present life well.
HOPE LEADS US TO...
WHY
Pray
We bring present fears and needs to God while trusting his purpose.
Persevere
Hard circumstances do not have the final word.
Encourage others
The gospel gives something solid to share with people who are discouraged.
Live faithfully
Future hope affects present choices and priorities.
Serve
We imitate Christ while waiting for his return.
Watch and wait
We remain ready for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
The God of hope
Hope is not something a disciple has to manufacture by force of personality. Paul describes God himself as “the God of hope”. The strength of Christian hope comes from believing God’s word and remembering his promises.
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope,”
Romans 15:13 (excerpt) • King James Version
This does not promise that every day will feel joyful or easy. It teaches that faith can produce a deep confidence that survives changing circumstances.
Baptism and a living hope
Peter brings hope, resurrection and new life together. A believer who is baptised into Christ begins a new life directed towards the inheritance God has promised. In the King James Version Peter calls this a “lively hope”, meaning a living hope.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
1 Peter 1:3 • King James Version
The foundation is again the resurrection of Jesus. Baptism does not guarantee salvation regardless of how we live afterwards; it begins a life of discipleship in which faith, repentance, obedience and hope continue together.
When hope feels difficult
There may be times when a believer feels exhausted, frightened or unable to see any immediate way forward. The examples in this lesson show that such feelings are not unusual in Scripture. Lamentations speaks from affliction. Job speaks from suffering. Abraham waited for years. Even strong faith can be tested.
A practical pattern for difficult days
Remember what God has promised. Pray honestly. Read a passage that directs your thoughts beyond the immediate problem. Stay close to faithful brothers and sisters. Do the next right thing you are able to do. Then continue to wait for God with patience.
Hope grows as we repeatedly bring our thoughts back to what God has revealed. It is therefore closely connected with Bible reading, prayer, fellowship and the habit of remembering God’s faithfulness.
What have we learned?
1. Biblical hope is confident expectation based on God’s promises, not merely a wish that circumstances will improve.
2. Faith and hope belong together: faith trusts God, while hope looks forward to the fulfilment of what he has promised.
3. The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of Christian hope and the guarantee that death will not have the final victory.
4. Lamentations teaches that hope can survive in the middle of suffering and can wait quietly for God’s salvation.
5. Abraham shows that hope sometimes requires many years of patient waiting.
6. Job shows that hope can look beyond severe present suffering to God as Redeemer.
7. The apostles used “hope” to describe the future of resurrection, salvation, glory, eternal life and the Kingdom of God.
8. Romans 8:24, not Romans 4:18, contains the KJV words “we are saved by hope”.
9. Christian hope reaches beyond the improvements human beings can make because it looks forward to resurrection and the removal of death.
10. Baptism into Christ begins a new life directed towards the “lively hope” made possible by the resurrection of Jesus.
Passages to read
Genesis 12:1-4 • Genesis 21:1-7 • Job 19:21-27 • Psalm 16:8-11 • Lamentations 3:18-26 • Acts 2:22-32 • Acts 24:14-15 • Romans 4:18-21 • Romans 8:18-25 • Romans 15:13 • 1 Corinthians 13:13 • 1 Corinthians 15:12-28 • 1 Thessalonians 5:8 • Titus 3:4-7 • Hebrews 6:17-20 • Hebrews 11:1-16 • 1 Peter 1:3-9
VERSE TO LEARN • 1 PETER 1:3
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 5
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 5