Hope is a Gift

All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:3

Hope is a gift of the Holy Spirit and an essential characteristic of the Christian. Today, we generally think of hope as mere expectation and desire. However, hope translates into a variety of Hebrew words which mean confidence, trust, and safety. Hope also includes trust, confidence, and refuge in God. As believers, our hope is based on the blood of Jesus, who pulled us from darkness into the light. Hope is the confidence, not that God will deliver us from evil, but that He already has. Hope is trusting that God has your best interests at heart. Hope is taking refuge in the Lord and gaining your strength and rest in Him. As you practice trust, confidence, and refuge in the Lord, your thoughts, feelings, heart and soul will purify because you are walking in the light of the Lord safe from the darkness.