Bible hope

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning— Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. - Psalm 130v5-6

What is hope? An old copy of Webster’s dictionary used this definition:

‘A desire of some good, accompanied with an expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable; an expectation something which is thought to be desirable; confidence; pleasing expectancy.’

Dictionary.com defines the word this way- ‘the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best:’

You can see the slight difference in meanings in the word. 150 years ago Webster has the idea that there is an expectation that something is going to happen. Today dictionary.com talks about a feeling that something can be had.

One is confidence, the other is maybe.

Most of the time when we read our Bibles and we come across the word ‘hope’ we need to read it with the idea of confidence. A few weeks ago Caleb was preaching and mentioned this illustration from Psalm 130.

The psalmist was hoping in the word of God. This was not a maybe kind of hope and he makes clear – ‘My soul waits for the Lord with more confidence than those who wait for the morning to come.’

Now that is hope. The night can seem very dark and very long. It may seem that morning is never going to come, but we know it will. The sun will indeed come up tomorrow. It is that kind of confidence we can have as we wait on the Lord.

What kind of hope do we have as we wait on the Lord’s promises? Is it a feeling that it could happen, or is an expectation of obtaining it?