Take a few moments to ponder the question, "What is hope?"  Jot a few things down.  The next question is, "Where can we find hope?"  A search on Google.com yields 105 million results for the word.  There are movies such as Hope Floats or Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.  People name their children "Hope" or have the last name of "Hope."  There are towns called Hope.  There's even a perfume called Hope.

   What does this word really mean?  It comes from the Old English word hopian, which means "to wish and expect, to look forward to something."  In the Bible, the word is mentioned 179 times, 44 of which occur in Job.  I bet you thought Job was a person without hope; however, he had a living hope.

   "Living Hope" is defined by three characteristics.  First, it begins with God's grace.  Once we realize we are saved through grace, we look forward to eternal life in heaven after earthly death.  Second, living hope is displayed in a new birth.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"  Finally, living hope focuses on the resurrection.  1 Peter 1:3 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

   How many people would we write off as having no hope?  Look at David.  He sinned with Bathsheba, but after he repented he was considered a man after God's own heart.  Job's children died and his wealth vanished, but he did not curse God.  He persevered through it all, and was blessed in the end.  The woman at the well was all alone, rejected by much of her community.  Jesus knew about her, restored her, and she became a messenger of the truth of Jesus.  Paul went from persecuting Christians to converting to Christianity himself.  He had a second chance, and he became God's chosen tool in spreading the Good News.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "There are three things that will endure--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love."  Paul groups hope with faith and love, showing that living hope is essential in our daily lives.

   Think about what God did in the lives of the above biblical examples.  What kinds of things do you see in a person of hope?  You are never beyond hope when put your hope in God.  It comes from knowing God and trusting His promises; this is a biblical hope, not a worldly hope.  "Life without Jesus is a hopeless end, but life with Jesus is an endless hope."

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." ~ Hebrews 12:1-3