Hope

Dear Victorious,

Can you tell me what hope is? When someone says some like, "I hope to get the house cleaned" or, "I hope to come to your party," what exactly does that mean?

Schuyler R. - Friendswood, TX

Dear Schuyler,

In general terms, any hope that comes from mankind or anywhere else on this earth is likely to fail us at some time or another. The only legitimate hope that lasts is the supernatural hope that comes from God.

So hope means going beyond our unpleasant daily experiences to the joy of knowing God. We live by trusting in Him - not by the benefits, happiness or success we may experience in this life. Our hope must come from God alone. If we try to find hope only in our circumstances, other people or anything else, it is false hope - counterfeit hope - and will fail us eventually.

So let's be clear on the origin and definition of hope. Hope is only legitimate if it comes from God. All other hope is counterfeit and will eventually disappoint us. Oddly enough, we use the word hope in all sorts of contexts. It can be a noun or a verb, for example,

The instances you provided are verb examples. So someone who says something like, "I hope I can come to your party," is ...

... planning to ask God for permission,
... is procrastinating without making any type of commitment, or
... has such oppressive circumstances that they truly don't know if they can attend or not.

Ask yourself which, if any of these is the most likely with your friends who make such statements.