Is you Hope Tank Low? Mine is

Hope seems to be in short supply these days, doesn’t it? Scrolling through headlines and watching or listening to newscasts is a one-way ticket to serious depression and an urge to run for a bomb shelter. Where does hope fit into this?

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite verses, saying, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”

Isaiah 40:31 says, “…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”

But I have a question: What does the word hope really mean? A wish upon a star? A longing? Is there any certainty to the word hope? I’m not sure we’re getting it right these days.

So, when you dive into the original Biblical texts, it appears that the Bible doesn’t use the word “hope” the way that we tend to use the English word today. In Scripture, the word hope has nothing to do with wishing. In fact, hope is used in different ways in the original languages, with each carrying a specific emotional and theological weight to help us see what hope looks like in a life of faith. Let me explain.

What is real hope? We're in short supply these days, aren't we?

 In Psalm 39:7, the word hope is the Hebrew word tohélet (pronounced "toh-heh-let"), which means longing, expectation, or looking ahead with trust. The word shows hope as a “forward lean” of the soul, or a posture that looks toward God with steady expectation.

That means hope isn’t passive. Picture yourself stretching out toward God, even when the outcome isn’t visible. Hope is anchored in God’s character, and not in circumstances. Has He answered your prayers and been there in the past? Of course, so hope then becomes active anticipation.

In Psalm 71:5, the Hebrew word is tiqvah, which means hope, expectation, or a cord/rope. This is one of the more vivid Biblical images. Tiqvah is the same word used in Joshua for the scarlet cord that Rahab hung from her window to lower the Jewish spies to safety while the King of Jericho was looking for them.

Thus, hope isn’t connected to our feelings, which a lot of us seem to live our lives by. Feelings are fickle and don’t always tell us the truth, do they? It’s never quite as bad or as good as we think things are.

Hope is something you hold onto tightly, like a lifeline, which is a great description of Biblical hope. It’s the rope you cling to when everything else shakes. It’s sturdy, tangible, and something God ties around all of our life stories.

In Jeremiah 17:7, the Hebrew word for hope is batach. It means trust, confidence, security, to feel safe. The core of the word is trust, leaning entirely on God, feeling secure in God’s care, and being anchored and unafraid. Hope is a restful confidence and a settled safety in God, even before deliverance comes.

You can have hope in difficult times

In Lamentations, the Hebrew word is yahal. It means to wait, to endure, to hope through delay or suffering. This is hope forged in hardship. The book of Lamentations sits in devastation, yet this word says to wait anyway, trust anyway, and expect God’s mercy, even while sitting in ruins! I love that!

Hope then becomes endurance, trusting God in the middle of the storm, not after it.

How about Romans 5:13, where the Greek word is elpis. It means certain expectation and assured confidence. Elpis is confidence rooted in God’s faithfulness. Here’s something that really resonates with me.

It’s not “I hope it works out.” It is “I know God will be faithful.” This means hope becomes assurance. It’s spirit-filled confidence that God will do what He promised. Think about it. He’s been there for us in the past. There is no reason He won’t be today and in the future too!

Finally, there’s Isaiah 40:31, where the Hebrew word is qavah. It means to bind together, to twist into a cord, or to wait with tense expectation. This is another rope word, but the nuance is different. Qavah describes strands being pulled tight and twisted together.

This means hope is a pulling together of your life with God’s life. Strength is renewed because your life is woven into His.

Hope then becomes union. When you are bound to God, His strength becomes yours.

Conclusion:

Hope is not a mood.

Hope is not optimism. (It’s always been more about optimism for me. I was wrong.)

Hope is not a denial of hardship. ( I always figured if nothing was going wrong, then I could have hope. Learning to have hope in the middle of hardship is a rough lesson to learn, isn’t it?)

Hope is a spiritual posture that actively clings to God while He works.

Hope is active. Let’s get to it!