"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13) Much has been written about love and faith. We know that there are different kinds of love, and different ways love is expressed. We know that faith is believing that which we can not see, and that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. Somehow hope has been overlooked, but given the present state of the country, and the fact that this is an election year, it may be time to give hope a little more attention.

We hope for many things. As a child, we may hope that we get a certain toy for Christmas. We may hope that our team makes the playoffs. A young man hopes that she says "yes", when he asks her the "big question". Later he may hope that he can pay the monthly mortgage payment, or that the medical test comes back with a desired result.

But what is the Biblical view of hope? Is it merely the trusting or the confident expectation of a positive outcome in the unknown future? Where does one find hope, especially when a situation seems hopeless? Is it enough to just hope? It should be no surprise the word, hope, appears so often in the books of Job and Lamentations. When things are not going well, hope is sometimes the only thing that is left. As Job shared, "At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail." (Job 14:7) Not the most optimistic outlook for one's future. Joel Osteen clearly was not around at the time.

Jeremiah, the author of Lamentations, cautions us on where one should place his hope, "This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord." (Jeremiah 23:16). Jeremiah also offers some direction, "But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him." (Jeremiah 17:7)

David had his share of ups and downs, so it is also not a surprise to find the word used in Psalms and Proverbs quite frequently. David is also cautious about where one places his trust, "Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save." (Psalm 146:3), and "A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save." (Psalm 33:17) David also provides some direction, "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord" (Psalm 31:24) and "We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield." (Psalm 33:20)

Both Jeremiah and David caution against placing our hope and trust in men, and the things of this world, but rather point us to an all powerful God. We are told in Isaiah 40:31 " .. those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." What a fantastic image, one that is joyful to visualize, and so motivating when taken to heart. It is why I love the Bible, not only is it so poetic, and it promises the free gift of eternal life, but it also feeds me in my daily life. It is the kind of real hope that only a Christian can know. Paul talks about it in Romans (15:13) "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Don't know about you, but it makes me want to fly like an eagle.

So is that all there is to hope? Think all you have to do is just sit back, hope, and lay it on the Lord? Better take a look at Hebrews 6:10-12 which advises us to be diligent and not lazy to the very end in order to make our hope sure. Reminds me of the story about the pastor in the life raft who says "Pray, but keep rowing toward shore". The Biblical view of hope does not allow us to be lax. We still have to do our part.

God has a wonderful plan for each of us who are reading this article, all we have to do is put our hope and trust in Christ; not in man or the things of this world. This promise is not part of a man-made campaign slogan, but it is found in the book of Jeremiah (29:11) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

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All quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible