Hope – Psalms 31:24 (NJKV)
“Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD – Psalms 31:24”
Hope in this verse is yahal in Hebrew. It also means ‘to wait’. However, there’s a very present optimism in the action of hope. That’s why we see Job complain of his lack of it in his grief and anguish:
“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope – Job 7:6
Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it? – Job 17:15
He breaks me down on every side, And I am gone; My hope He has uprooted like a tree. – Job 19:10
Job was waiting on death but there was no optimism. No expectation of a better outcome. Then hope seems to wait for a positive outcome that one may or may not have evidence of happening. Hope is both a mindset and a willful choice. To choose to be optimistic that things will work out to your good, is to hope. David wrote many songs and poems about this choice. Let’s look at a section of Psalms 42 to get an interesting context and contrast to this idea of hope:
“To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, “Where is your God?” When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast. Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance O my God,[fn] my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar.” – Psalm 42:1-6
This a cry unto God, David is making. But notice there’s a tension within him. David acknowledges that his soul, the Hebrew word nepes, which can be translated into a number of ideas but the core seems to be mind, heart and seat of emotions and appetites, is cast down. But David questions this state of his mind and heart (keep in mind this is poetic language). In this depressive state, what is the counter? What is the elixir? Hope. Specifically, hope in God.
Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You. – Psalms 33:22
For in You, O LORD, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God. – Psalms 38:15
“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. – Psalms 39:7
But is that it? Is that all? Is David hoping that God is? No, clearly David needs no convincing that God not only exists, but is attentive to him and his situation. So what is David hoping for or in?
Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope – Psalms 119:49
My soul faints for Your salvation, But I hope in Your word. – Psalms 119:81
You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word. – Psalms 119:114
Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live;And do not let me be ashamed of my hope – Psalms 119:116
David is hoping to see God’s words come true. Whether those words were words of promise spoken to Moses, and then recited to the children of Israel about how those who follow the commandments of God would prosper and God would drive out their enemies. David at times was also choosing to hold on to the words of prophecy spoken over him by the prophet and judge Samuel about being king one day. There were also words that the Spirit of God told David, that inspired him to write that even though he may find himself in the valley of the shadow of death, David vowed to not fear any evil because God had promised His presence. God’s words were the foundation and fountain of David’s hope and they should be ours too.
Thousands of years later an unknown author would be inspired by that same Holy Spirit to write in a letter to Hebrews, [Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. – Hebrews 11:1-2] and in the same time period Paul would be inspired by that same Holy Spirit to write in a letter to Romans, [So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. – Romans 10:17]
Hope is the precursor to faith, but the route to faith starts at the word of God. So to hope is to be optimistic that God will prove His word to be true, despite how we feel and/or how the situation looks. The 3 Hebrew boys hoped to be delivered from the fiery furnace. They choose to face a possible death, rather than disobey God’s word. May we all be filled with such hope in the truth of God’s word.