What is hope?

Imagine two hikers. Let’s call them Emily and Kate. They are identical in many ways—age, background, temperament—one day they set out on a bushwalk and end up getting lost with the dark of night approaching. Now, Emily’s father, an experienced hiker who knows the area well, promised her that if she wasn’t home by dinner, he would come and find her. He’s rescued her and many other people before, and she trusts that he will do it again. Kate, however, has no one to count on and feels completely alone.

As the darkness deepens, Kate becomes paralysed by fear, imagining the worst. But Emily remains calm, trusting her father’s promise. This trust allows her to think clearly, comfort Kate, and even take steps to make it easier for her father to find them.

So, here we have two similar women in the same situation, yet they react very differently. Why? Because they have different hopes for the future. And what this helps us to see is that it’s not just our circumstances that shape how we live, but our belief about the future that influences how we handle things in the present.

Numerous psychological and social studies confirm this about human nature. We are hope-based creatures. But the Bible goes further by explaining why this is the case. Let me give you the answer and then break it down. Christian hope is a confident expectation (1) grounded in the character and promises of God, (2) which empowers us to live with peace and resilience in the present, (3) bringing lasting transformation in preparation for our ultimate future with God.

First, Christian hope is a confident expectation grounded in the character and promises of God. Many people today see hope as a kind of wishful thinking, shaped by modern ideas that emerged during the European Enlightenment. This period brought the belief that humanity could create a better future ourselves through things like, science and technology, without the need for religion. And for a while, it seemed like progress was being made, but the 20th century brought wars, conflicts, and social upheavals that shattered that sense of stability. Today, we live in a time marked by division and uncertainty, which has affected how we think about hope. It often feels like hope is just a passive waiting game, where we wish for good things to happen but aren’t really sure they will, like saying, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow” or “I hope I get that job.”

Christian hope, is very different. Throughout the Christian story, hope is expressed as a confident belief in God’s promises. So, it’s not just about wishing things will turn out well or relying on our own plans and desires, it’s a strong and certain belief that God will keep His promises because of who He is. Just as Emily trusted her father to find her because he had done it before, Christians trust God because He has shown Himself to be faithful throughout history.

And this hope has two sides. The first is the objective side, where we trust in God’s promises because of His proven faithfulness. The second is the personal side, where God’s promises give Christians a sense of direction and peace, even in dark and uncertain times—much like how Emily, lost in the bush, stayed calm because she trusted her father’s promise. And this kind of trust in God, especially during difficult times, is why the Bible connects ‘hope’ with the ‘fear of God.’ This “fear” isn’t about being scared, but about fully depending on God, no matter what we’re going through.

So, unlike the secular idea of hope that depends on circumstances or our own desires, Christian hope is based on the unchanging nature of God. And it’s this confident expectation that God will fulfill His promises that makes Christian hope strong and resilient. While Emily’s father promised to find her, God has already fulfilled His promise by coming to us in Jesus. So, Christian hope is a future expectation based on a past revelation, which is why the New Testament often refers to Jesus as our hope; we look to Him. And what happens when we look to Jesus? This leads to a second point.

Christian hope is a confident expectation which empowers us to live with peace and resilience in the present. A story is told in John 11 there’s a story about Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus, who becomes sick and eventually dies. Now, the family sent word to Jesus that he was sick, but Jesus had delayed his return, sending a message that it will not end in death. But Lazarus does end up dying. So, by the time Jesus does arrive, Lazarus’ sisters (Mary and Martha) are understandably upset. They ask Jesus why He didn’t come sooner and Jesus responds by telling them not to focus on the fact that Lazarus died or even on their Jewish cultural belief that he would rise again at the end of time. Instead, He tells them to focus on Him and His promise, saying, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Then, He asks them, “Do you believe this?” Eventually, they go to Lazarus’ tomb, and Jesus raises him from the dead, making good on His promise and proving that He has the power over life and death.

Amongst other things, this story shows that Christian hope in Jesus isn’t just a passive thing; it’s active. Jesus invites Mary and Martha to believe in Him, and their hope leads to action. In the same way, Christian hope isn’t just a feeling—it’s a powerful force that changes how we live.

It’s like the Battle of Helm’s Deep in Tolkien’s The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien. Aragon and his team are overwhelmed by the relentless onslaught of Saruman’s army. All hope seems lost, as they band the few defenders left and ride out to meet the enemy. But then as dawn breaks, they hear the sound of horns echoing over the horizon. It’s the Riders of Rohan led by Gandalf! Help has come! And with it—HOPE—hope that animates Aragorn and his comrades to ride and fight and push through the difficulty.

This is how Christian hope empowers us now. God, who is external to our situations in life, comes to meet us in the mix in Jesus, meeting us with hope like breath into dry bones, light into darkness, truth into doubt, empowering us to view our circumstances differently, not as something that can defeat us, but as something we can overcome because of Jesus who “for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2). Christians can overcome because Christ has already overcome.

And this leads to the third point: Christian hope is a confident expectation bringing lasting transformation in preparation for our ultimate future with God. Peter calls Christian hope a “living hope” through Jesus’ resurrection—an inheritance that can never be taken away. (1 Pet. 1:3-4). In other words, Christian hope doesn’t just help us survive; it helps us thrive; it isn’t just about getting through tough times, it’s about being transformed in such times by the hope we have in Jesus.

There are many studies showing how expectations affect behaviour. Financial incentives, personal motivations, rewards of some kind, all of this has been shown to influence people. But what is the ultimate hope Jesus offers? We’re not talking about working hard for some material reward, we’re talking about a free gift of life from the dead. And think about it. Resurrection is a total transformation of a circumstance, namely death. Right? So, when you bring the hope of resurrection into any situation, no matter how bad it is, it has the power to completely change it. Think about the early Christians who faced severe persecution. What gave them the strength to stand firm and actively live out their faith? It was hope—real, deep, Biblical hope that was “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Heb. 6:19).They believed in God’s promises so strongly that it changed how they lived every day. They shared the gospel, loved their enemies, cared for the poor, and even faced death with courage.

Or fast forward to the Nazi concentration camps of WWII. Viktor Frankl, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, observed that those who lost hope in the future were much more likely to succumb to despair and death, in contrast to those who maintained a sense of purpose and hope.

You see, hope shapes everything—our character, our priorities, our purpose, and our sense of identity. 1 John 3:3 says, “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” The hope of seeing Jesus and becoming like Him doesn’t just comfort us now; it has the power to fundamentally change us—our choices, values, and relationships.

So, what is Christian hope? It is a confident expectation grounded in the character and promises of God, which empowers us to live with peace and resilience in the present, bringing lasting transformation in preparation for our ultimate future with God.

And if being human means we all have hope, the question for all of us, then, is: Where do you place your hope? Is it in the things of this world, which depend on your circumstances? Or is it in something that transcends circumstances, something that can lift you up and empower you to keep going, no matter how lost you feel or how dark things might get?