How to Hope

A Muddy Bootprint for March 25, 2025

“What is hope? It may be described as a certain expectation to attain everything faith believes, grounded only on God’s grace.” ~Paul Bayne (1573-1617)

Hope is not only a noun. It’s also a verb.

Hoping is not wishing. Hope doesn’t wish. It works. It acts.

Hope trusts. Hope expects. Hope waits.

When the needle of my compass is pointed in God’s direction, hope is confident that God will be there at the end of my journey. When my heart is attracted to God, and not to anything else, hope expects God to fulfill my desires and satisfy my passions. When I commit my way to Jesus, hope confidently waits on Him to lead the way.

Hope is what confidence looks like. Hope is how faith acts.

Hope waits for a brighter day when the day is dark. Hope expects God to still be good when everything looks bad. Hope hie tails it to God when trouble comes instead of taking on trouble alone. Hope relies on God’s promises even when nothing looks promising.

Hope works because Jesus already did the work to save my hopeless soul. Hope trusts in Jesus because He is my hope.

Hoping is doing the work of quietly waiting on God.

Hope doesn’t wish. Hope works.

Attack Point: If your hope is small, ask God to increase it. If it is sleeping, ask Him to awaken it. If it is defeated, ask God to raise it up. (John Calvin)

Orienting Your Map:

[Key Verses: Psalm 25:2-3; Romans 5:3-5; Also: Genesis 49:18; Job 13:15; Psalm 22:5, 28:7, 31:1-5, 40:1, 42:1, 69:3, 86:4, 119:116, 143:8; Proverbs 16:20, 29:25; Isaiah 8:17, 26:2-3, 30:15. 40:31; Jeremiah 17:7; Lamentations 3:24; Romans 8:24-25; 1 Corinthians 13:13; 2 Corinthians 1:10; Philippians 1:20; Hebrews 3:6, Ch. 11; 1 Peter 1:3, 21]

That is all.

Carry On. 😉