“Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!”

• Romans 15:13 (MSG)

Almost every day, it seems like there is bad news on television and on the internet. On top of that, you may be going through your own trials and challenges that make life difficult. In the face of all of this, it can be easy to lose hope that things will get better. But the Bible has many messages about hope, like the one above. So how do we find hope and hang on to it when times are tough?

Defining hope

Before you can find and hang on to hope, you should make sure you understand what hope is in the first place. Contemporary use of the word “hope” can almost always be replaced by the word “wish.” For example, “I hope I get that job” can easily be replaced with “I wish I get that job.” A wish or hope in this sense is essentially a longing for something to happen that you don’t know will happen.

Hope in God is more concrete than this. 

When hope is spoken of in the Bible (pick your passage; there are a lot), it’s spoken of with confidence. Hope in the Bible is based on an assurance of what will happen in God’s plan. It’s the assurance in His goodness and promise to make things new. It’s assurance in our salvation. 

These are things we cannot always see or experience, but hope is the assurance that they are there or will be there one day. 

Finding hope in God

Knowing about hope and finding hope are two different things. Head knowledge doesn’t negate emotional trauma or help ease the suffering during difficult times. But neither is hope a bandage for making us feel better in these moments. Instead, it is something we cling to as we believe in God’s faithfulness to us each day.

If you want to find hope in God, you can read verses about hope and God’s faithfulness to His people. Pray to Him and trust that He is working in you for good. 

Centerpoint Church is a community of people who hold fast to hope

Nobody needs to go on the journey to finding hope and building a relationship with God on their own. The church is meant to be a community of people who love and support one another and even those outside of the community. If you have questions about hope or building a relationship with God, we’re here for you.