HOPE CREWNECK

Romans 15:13, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Biblical hope is not simply a blind intellectual or emotional leap towards "wishing for the best". Hope in God is a positive expectation that He will fulfill His promises to us. John Piper writes that, "Most of us know that biblical faith is a strong confidence. Doubt is the enemy of biblical faith. But if hope is faith in the future tense, then we can see more clearly that hope, too, is a strong confidence and not just wishful thinking."  Because of the resurrection of Christ, we can have hope in God as He has so clearly delivered us from bondage to sin and granted us eternal life. Not only this, but He has given us the Spirit in order to embolden our faith and hope- to give us assurance that God will work according to our ultimate good even if we can't see it in the moment. This isn't prosperity gospel nonsense, this is belief in the name of Christ and expectation that God is who He says He is. He not only loves to teach and correct His children, but to bless them as well.