It is my contention that hope is the least know, least understood, least defined and absolutely one of the most important companions one can associate with as you travel through life. Also, it is a word that constantly is used in our daily speech. I realize that sounds a tad dramatic but that doesn’t mitigate against the truth. Hope is critical for a quality life. (Just try living without it.)
Hope touches everything you do, everything you say. In many ways it’s the spark. Look at the way it manifests itself in your words and actions. And look at how it impacts others. With hope there is anticipation, there’s excitement, there’s possibilities. If you didn’t have hope how much of what you do and say would not be said, done?
But… what is hope? I suspect it has as many definitions as those who use the word. And it covers a variety of expectations. I also suspect that no one really ever takes the time to define the word since this way it can cover as many situations as possible. Hope is used to convey a … I-don’t-think-‘it’-will-happen-but-it-might. Hope is used to express less than confident belief in someone or something (I ‘hope’ they will win, I ‘hope’ that it will happen…)
Because of its undefined yet universally used status, hope is both context as well as the conviction. But is this how the word is explained and defined in scripture? What does the Word say about the word?????
