Two-minute read.
Hope saves, faith rooted in God’s promises. Our salvation doesn’t come from something fixed already, or because suffering has disappeared, but because of the hope Jesus gave us when He walked out of the tomb. If you can see the results, you don’t need hope for it. Hope lives in the in-between. In my book, Love Remains, I explored 1 Cor. 13:13, which says, “these three remain, faith, hope, and love.” When we get to heaven, we’ll no longer need faith and hope because we will live in the Lord’s glory with Him in unfathomable love. But while we live on earth, faith and hope sustain us as we wait for our eternal rewards.
Hope only exists when we wait. If you already have a healed body, you don’t hope for healing. Or if you have a restored relationship, you no longer hope for reconciliation. In the same way, if we already stood in heaven, we wouldn’t hope for it. Paul doesn’t shame the waiting in today’s verse; he normalizes it, as we should. We all wait for something, and will until the Lord calls us home.
How we wait matters. God wants us to wait patiently and persevere steadily under pressure. Not passive or defeated, the Lord wants us to anchor ourselves to Him and trust. When we adopt this posture, we become people who believe in God’s faithfulness, even before we receive the answer. I don’t always know the Savior’s will for my life, but I live in hope because I know He will answer my prayers and reveal it to me in His time.
Seasons where prayers don’t feel answered, healing hasn’t come, promises feel delayed, and you long for restoration don’t mean your faith failed. You live in hope during times like these, trusting God that what hasn’t yet happened will happen, either here on earth or in heaven. One day, when the Lord calls us home, all will become right. We will have complete healing, answers to the unknown, promises fulfilled, and relationships restored. Living in the hope of the Savior means trusting that God will keep His word… the word on which we place our faith.
Live in hope today. Focus your eyes on Jesus, and trust Him completely. Intertwine your life with His, depend on Him completely, and enjoy the abundant life God has for you.
Journal Questions:
How does hope sustain waiting?
Describe a waiting period that drew you closer to God?
How can you wait patiently today?
Application:
Replace one anxious thought with a spoken promise.
