How can gods promise give people hope today?

Answer 1

The Bible says that God is the source of hope: "Moreover, may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave everlasting comfort and good hope by means of undeserved kindness". (2 Thessalonians 2:16) The prophet Jeremiah lived during an extremely difficult period of time for God's people and wrote extensively about having hope given to him by God. (Jeremiah 17:13; 29:11; 31:17)

Hope it is a fruitage of the holy spirit which you can ask God for. (Galatians 5:22,23) Hope basically means to wait in expectation for. Hope stems from faith. The Bible defines faith at Hebrews 11:1 - "Faith is the assured expectation of what is hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities that are not seen."

So, the two qualities of faith and hope go hand in hand. Faith is believing that God will do what he promises to do and hope is to wait in expectation of it. Love also plays an important factor in cultivating both qualities. "Now, however, these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Hope can help those who wait in expectation of God's promises to get through a world with no hope. Ephesians 2:12 says: "At that time you were without Christ, alienated from the state of Israel, strangers to the covenants of the promise; you had no hope and were without God in the world." Concerning our dead loved ones, 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says: "Moreover, brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who are sleeping in death, so that you may not sorrow as the rest do who have no hope." Paul was referring to the promised resurrection of the dead.

Answer 2

"Hope" is a spiritual entity of the heart and mind that a person harbors within, but which may be seen through one's actions or attitude.

Regarding "God's promises"... a person needs to, first, "know what they are" by "reading God's inspired Words in the Bible" in order to take them into one's heart and mind. And then, a person needs to "believe" those words and accept them as the "Truth" that God says they are. Because if you can believe and trust the Words of God; they will "set you apart from others" [sanctify you]... and fill you with Hope:

"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. SANCTIFY them [set them apart for your Holy use and purpose] THROUGH THY TRUTH: THY WORD IS TRUTH." (John 17:16-17)

Same verses [NLT New Living Translation]: "They are not part of this world any more than I am. Make them PURE and HOLY by TEACHING THEM your WORDS OF TRUTH."

Hope and hopelessness are both the result of whatever it is in which you believe.

"For nature was subjected to IMPERFECTION, not by its own will, but by the will of Him who thus made it subject -- yet NOT WITHOUT HOPE that some day nature itself will be freed from the thralldom of decay, into the freedom which belongs TO THE GLORY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD.

For we know that all nature has been GROANING and TRAVAILING [in birth pains - the future rebirth - see John 3:3] together until this hour. And not only that, we ourselves, although we are grasping the first-fruits of the [Holy] Spirit, even we ourselves are inwardly groaning, while we are WAITING FOR ADOPTION, the redemption of our body.

For BY HOPE are we saved; but Hope which is clearly seen is no longer Hope. Who Hopes for what he clearly sees? But if WE HOPE FOR SOMETHING THAT WE DO NOT SEE, we PATIENTLY WAIT FOR IT. (Rom.8:20-25 MNT Montgomery New Testament)

"Rejoice IN HOPE; be patient under affliction; continue steadfast in prayer. Be liberal to needy saints. Practice hospitality. Bless your persecutors, bless, and curse not." (Rom.12:12-14 MNT)

"For everything that WAS WRITTEN OF OLD has been written FOR OUR INSTRUCTION, that THROUGH PATIENCE, and through THE [spiritual, intellectual, mental, and heartfelt] COMFORT OF THE SCRIPTURES, we MIGHT HAVE HOPE. Now the God of Patience and of Comfort grant you to be in full sympathy with one another, in accordance with the example of Jesus Christ." (Rom.15:4-5 MNT)

"...as Isaiah says: 'There shall be the root of Jesse, and He that arises to Rule over the Gentiles [Jesus Christ]; on Him shall the Gentiles HOPE {Isa.11:1, 10}. Now the God of ALL HOPE fill you with all Joy and Peace in BELIEVING, that you may be overflowing with HOPE in THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT." (Rom.15:12-13 MNT)

"If in this life only we have Hope in Christ, we are of all mankind most pitiable. But now, NOW, CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, the first-fruit of those who have fallen asleep [died]... For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ WILL ALL BE MADE ALIVE. But each in his own order; Christ the first-fruits, then those who belong to Christ AT HIS APPEARING." (I Cor.15:19-23 MNT)

"Now, brothers, I want you to know about the troubles which befell me in Asia; how I was burdened altogether beyond my strength, so that I renounced ALL HOPE even of life itself. Indeed, I had in myself, and still have, the sentence of death, in order that I might NOT RELY ON MYSELF, but ON GOD who RAISES THE DEAD TO LIFE. He delivered me from such a death, and WILL deliver me. On Him I HAVE SET MY HOPES the He will continue to deliver me, while all of you also are helping me by your prayers; so that from many lips Thanksgiving may rise on my behalf for the blessings vouchsafed to me through the intercessions of many." (II Cor.1:8-11 MNT)

The Bible is filled with Divinely-inspired Words of HOPE. But you have to seek them out, read the Book. believe the Words... and then, in Obedience to the One who inspired them; learn to conduct yourself in accordance with those Words.

The bottom line is that the promises of God are the ones He gave to Abraham: to make of him a GREAT NATION, and that ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH WOULD BE BLESSED through his Seed, which is the Christ or the promise of the Messiah.

What these translate to in modern terms is: the GREAT NATION will ultimately be THE KINGDOM OF GOD established here on earth, as Jesus teaches us to pray ["...thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth..."]; and THE BLESSING OF THE NATIONS being the SALVATION OF ALL OF MANKIND.

"And if you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham, and heirs ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE." (Gal.3:29 MNT)

It further translates into the message of Christ and the Bible that you just don't hear being preached in many of the pulpits of modern professing Christianity: the GOSPEL [or GOOD NEWS] of the KINGDOM OF GOD that's coming; which is finally able to come to fruition because Jesus Christ qualified to become the KING of that coming Kingdom by defeating Satan in the "temptation" account in the Bible.

That's what God calls it -- GOOD NEWS! GOSPEL. Although very few people seem to have heard or know about it.

"...Jesus came into Galilee preaching the GOSPEL OF GOD. 'The time is now come,' He said, 'and the KINGDOM OF GOD is near! REPENT and BELIEVE the GOSPEL [good news].'" (Mark 1:14-15 MNT)

If the world could somehow know about God's promise to the Children of His future Family... and then, somehow BELIEVE it... and somehow learn what "repent" means -- it would then realize that the promise of God: the promise that He's going to REMOVE ALL OF MAN'S Satan-guided and designed governments off the face of the earth and establish God's benevolent, Just, and Peaceful Government on the earth. And then they would come to realize that this is REALLY the ONLY REAL HOPE this world has; or it won't survive what's coming:

"...for then shall be a time of Great Tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never shall be again. And if these days had not BEEN SHORTENED [by God], NO FLESH WOULD BE SAVED [alive]; but for the elect's sake [for the sake of God's servants on earth] these days shall be cut short." (Matt.24:21-22 MNT)

"...and THE GOVERNMENT WILL REST ON HIS SHOULDERS... His ever expanding, PEACEFUL GOVERNMENT will NEVER END. He will Rule with Fairness and Justice from the throne of His ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will GUARANTEE THIS!" (Isa.9:6-7 NLT)

That's God's Promise. It's just that not many people know about it... and so few of those who have read about it BELIEVE IT.

Therefore, this unbelieving world is lost in HOPELESSNESS.

Answer 3

Yes. God is the only thing that gives us hope or purpose. If not for God and the human soul, why bother living? Is our only purpose to preserve our own DNA? Is the only difference between a human and a microbe one of degree? See also:

The purpose of religion