This article is part of a yearlong series exploring one foundational biblical word each month. This month, we are focusing on HOPE. Subscribe to the Sunday Morning Newsletter and catch up on the entire series at amac.us/faith.
As we continue our exploration of biblical hope, it is helpful to remember what we’ve already learned: hope is not a fragile wish. It is a firm, life-shaping confidence anchored in God Himself.
- The Resurrection of Jesus overcame death, the most final of human realities, proving no situation is beyond God’s power to restore.
- The Raising of Lazarus showed that even when God’s timing seems delayed, His power is perfectly on time.
- The Story of David demonstrated that we can face giants not through our own strength, but with unwavering trust in the reputation of God.
In each of these stories, hope didn’t appear in moments of comfort. It was forged in crisis. This leads us to a deeper truth: hope is something we need specifically for life on earth. In eternity, where we will live fully in God’s presence, hope will no longer be necessary. But in this fallen world, marked by hardship and uncertainty, hope is the very oxygen of the soul.
Because hope is a critical element of our day-to-day lives, we must be clear about the definition. When we say, “I hope things work out,” we are expressing uncertainty. Biblical hope is the opposite. It is a moral certainty, a settled assurance grounded in the unchanging character of God. It is what the Hebrew word tikvah captures: a rope or cord that you hold onto, anchored firmly outside of yourself.
When the Pit Is the Path
Few stories in Scripture illustrate this more powerfully than the life of Joseph. His story is not one of a single setback, but a long, painful stretch of adversity. Betrayed by his brothers, he was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery. Just as life began to stabilize, he was falsely accused and imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.
From a human perspective, Joseph’s life looked like a steady unraveling. He appeared to be a man forgotten by others and perhaps even by God. Yet, Scripture quietly repeats a phrase that changes everything: “The Lord was with Joseph.”
God was with him in the pit, in the suffering, and in the confinement. God’s presence did not prevent Joseph’s hardship, but it defined it. What Joseph could not see in the moment was that the pit was not a detour. It was the path. Every betrayal and delay was being woven into a larger story to preserve countless lives, including his family who had wronged him.
Seeing What God Sees
The turning point comes at the end of the story when Joseph stands face to face with his brothers. He had every reason to respond with anger, yet he spoke with clarity shaped by hope: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20).
This is the language of hope! Joseph didn’t deny the evil or pretend the pain didn’t matter. Instead, he saw God’s sovereign hand at work through it all. We often struggle because we live in the middle of the story. We feel the weight of the current chapter and assume it defines the whole book. But God is not bound by our timeline. He is the Master Architect, using even the broken pieces of our lives to build something redemptive.
A Work of the Spirit
This kind of hope doesn’t come naturally. It isn’t created through willpower, but is produced by the Spirit. Paul writes in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Hope is Spirit-produced. As we trust Him, the Spirit fills us with a perspective that goes beyond our circumstances. This hope gives us the ability to look back without regret and forward without fear. To the world, suffering feels random. To the believer, it is never wasted. In the hands of God, our deepest pain becomes part of a greater purpose.
Joseph remained faithful in the darkness because he trusted the character of the One who dwells in the light. He didn’t need to understand the “why” because he was anchored in the “Who.” If you find yourself in a “pit” today, remember that your hope is not grounded in your ability to fix what’s broken. It is anchored in a God who sees fully and works faithfully, even in the silence.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We thank You that You are the God of Hope. When our circumstances feel like a pit and the path forward is hidden from our eyes, remind us that You are with us.
Help us to hold tightly to the anchor of Your character rather than the uncertainty of our feelings.
We surrender our pain, our waiting, and our unanswered questions to You, trusting that You never waste a single tear.
Fill us with Your Spirit so that we may overflow with a confident expectation of Your goodness.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Daily Scripture Readings
Monday: Lamentations 3:21–24
Recalling God’s faithfulness and mercies each morning is the starting point for hope in the midst of affliction.
Tuesday: Romans 8:24–25
Biblical hope is rooted in what we cannot yet see, teaching us to wait with patient confidence.
Wednesday: Hebrews 6:18–19
God’s promises serve as a secure anchor for the soul, holding us steady through life’s storms.
Thursday: Isaiah 40:30–31
Those who wait on the Lord receive renewed strength, enabling them to endure without growing weary.
Friday: 1 Peter 1:3–4
Through the resurrection of Jesus, we are given a living hope – secure, imperishable, and kept in heaven for us.
Saturday: Psalm 130:5–7
Waiting on the Lord is like a watchman waiting for the morning – a confident expectation that the light will come.
Jonathan Griffin, Director of Advertising & Partner Development at AMAC | Former pastor & professor | Current husband & father | Redeemed sinner, saved by grace.