Weekly Devotional: Hope

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12)

  • Yachal = hope: to wait, expect; waiting with expectation (OT)

  • Elpizō = hope: to wait with joy and full confidence, to trust in (NT)

  • Elpis = hope: expectation of good; the thing hoped for (NT)

Hope is a common topic in the Bible, and while many references speak of placing hope in God, we have a few other examples, as well. But what do all of these various references have in common? 

  • Acts 16:19 - hope of making money=expectation of making money

  • Luke 24:21 - expectation that Jesus was going to redeem Israel (like David)

  • Jeremiah 23:16 - false expectations

These 3 examples capture the specific nature of hope that echoes through the Bible: to have hope is to have expectation, and usually it involves waiting on that expectation. So what exactly does expectation have to do with God? As it turns out, a lot. 

DevotionalPei Zuan Tam