Hope: Psalms 130:7

We all hope for one thing or another every day. This is human nature. But did you know that there is more than one meaning to the word HOPE? More importantly, did you know that God desperately hopes for our hope? 

Let's discuss...

 At God Search, we talk about things that could matter, like...

Hope

"Oh, Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is loving devotion, and with him is redemption in abundance." Psalms 130:7

Yakhal

The word 'hope' in the Hebrew language often translates to what one might expect, i.e., to wait, to tarry. This type of hope is "Yakhal" in Hebrew. It's thinking about something, be it a thing, a person, a condition, and sort of without a plan, attempting to wish it into being. This kind of hope is usually directed toward the uncontrollable, and it is very closely related to optimism. When I was a kid, Don Williams was a popular country music artist, and one of his most popular songs, "Lord, I Hope This Day is Good," exemplified Yakhal. We hope that our employer will decide to give us a paid day off. We hope that the coffee we are about to drink is satisfying. We hope our car makes it to the gas station before it runs out of gas. These are examples of hope at a shallow level. And then...there's biblical hope.

Qavah

Biblical hope, or "Qavah," is also a kind of waiting, but it is more of a tense expectation, and it is always about God. Qavah is seen numerous times in the bible, particularly in the book of Psalms, and in every case, what people are experiencing "tense expectation" over...is God. And in most cases, while there is little to no evidence that things might improve, Qavah is chosen anyway. And it's important to know that this hope is not altogether baseless. Qavah is a hope for the future based upon the past, and remember, this hope is always about God, so Qavah is activated as a result of the actions and proven reliability of God in the past. 

Psalms 39:7 "And now, Oh Lord, what else can I hope (Qavah) for? You are my hope (Yakhal)." This verse uses both "Yakhal" and "Qavah" in a way that clearly defines the two distinct words. In a way, the writer, David, is claiming that his deep and tense expectation of the Lord, which is based upon God's proven track record, causes him to simply wait with confidence. 

Elpis

A new kind of hope emerged in the new testament called"Elpis." This hope is based solely upon the resurrected Christ. This still references a kind of expectation, trust, confidence, but in this case it is based solely upon Jesus Christ's resurrecting power. In other words, "Elpis" is possible only because Christ rose from the dead...He overcame death, thereby giving us hope for a conquering of eternal death. This is why Elpis is referred to as a "living" hope. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." I Peter 1:3 Another difference between Elpis and its counterparts, Yakhal and Qavah, is that Elpis is also a kind of liberating hope that extends beyond humanity and into the entire universe, that one day the universe itself will be freed from the grips of corruption and the forces of evil. 

I can't help but think that in each of these three cases of hope, there is an element of choice, and as we move down the list from one type of hope to the next, we find an increase in the degree of faith required in order to find ourselves surrounded with that hope. (For more on "faith," see my previous video.)

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope (Elpis) by the power of the Holy Spirit."  This is an interesting verse in that God is referred to as the God "of hope." This either means that God is hoping or that God is the reason for our hope. Obviously, the latter is most likely the case. Is it possible, however, that just as a person who thinks deeply is referred to as a person of deep thought, God, being referred to as the God of  hope is the God who hopes, or as the God who has deep expectations and confidence? The action of God here is to fill us with joy in order that we may experience hope. Our source of hope is from God, but could it be that in this verse we are seeing a loving God who is himself hoping that we will accept that joy and peace. It is quite possible that both conditions are true; A hopeful God is offering joy and peace, and it is only through this hopeful God that we can have hope for salvation, but it is only through belief, and belief, in this verse, is faith (pistis). John Piper, teacher and founder of desiringGod.org, says, "I picture the Christian life as a kind of spiraling up into ever-increasing hope which leads to ever-increasing joy and peace which leads to experiences with God in trial which leads to more hope until we get to the place where we walk by sight and not by faith (pistis) anymore." This is a strong statement, but when you watch him say this, there is a moment (quite literally a moment) at the very end of the statement where his deep hope (Elpis) is so clearly evident.  

To me, if I have no hope for a greater tomorrow, I have no reason to live. This is NOT a reference to the next day, but rather a reference to the next life. 

And that's today's talk. I hope that at least something I've said has been impactful, meaningful, worthy of contemplation. Please subscribe to my channel, and be sure to comment if you feel so compelled.

Thank you for listening. See you soon. Take care.

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qkoZQRbl3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WYNBjJSYvE

https://biblehub.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7CUcKJzsiQ



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trust: Proverbs 3:5

Image
"I trust you," is a very impactful phrase. It accompanies vulnerability, doesn't it? In trusting, we decide that the one or ones within whom we put our trust won't let us down. But at what point does one determine trustability? Let's discuss... At God Search, we talk about things that could matter, like... Trust " Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 The word for "Trust" in this verse in Hebrew (Batah) means to have a kind of careless confidence. In other words, it isn't necessarily a trust that's earned, like "I trust that you'll get that job done since you've proven reliability in the past," but rather a kind of blind trust: I trust you because you are asking me to trust you, period.  According to Pastor Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church in Georgia, "Trust is reliance on the integrity, the strength, the ability, the surety of God. It is a confident expe...
Read more

Prayer: 1 Timothy 2:1

Image
Prayer is supposed to be an integral part of a Christian's life. We're urged to pray on a regular basis. A lot of questions could be asked about prayer: Why should I pray? How often? For whom? And more. But these are trivial compared to this: Does God hear my prayers? Let's discuss...   At God Search, we talk about things that could matter, like... Prayer "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men," 1 Timothy 2:1 "Proseuche" is the Greek word for prayer, and in addition to personal communication with God, it also indicates an exchange of wishes! So in this, the purpose of prayer is to exchange wishes with God. Throughout the Bible, we're reminded of the many ways that God favors us; the wishes that he has for us. I found a really comprehensive, moving, and effective Youtube video on this topic. I hope that you'll take a few minutes to watch it (see Sources). Here are just ...
Read more