We use the word “hope” loosely. We hope the weather holds, hope the test comes back clear, hope things work out. Most of the time we mean I wish.
The Bible means something much stronger. As I put it in my book, Renewing Your Mind: Living Life Intentionally:
“Hope is a word often used to convey desire or a wish. However, in the Bible, hope is the word used to convey security in our confident expectation that God will fulfill His promises.”
Here are Bible verses about hope: where it comes from, how it holds in hard times, and how it grows.
Hope Rooted in God’s Promises
Biblical hope rests on what God has said:
“…And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.”
Romans 15:4 NLT
That’s why reading God’s Word is so closely tied to hope. The more we know His promises, the more our hope has to stand on.
Paul calls God Himself “the source of hope”, and prays that believers would be filled with joy and peace as they trust Him, until they “overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NLT). Hope, joy and peace travel together. (See also Bible Verses About Peace (opens in a new tab) and Bible Verses About Joy (opens in a new tab), each opening in a new tab.)
Hope That Holds Steady
The writer of Hebrews pictures hope as an anchor:
“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.”
Hebrews 6:19 NLT
An anchor doesn’t stop the storm. It keeps the boat from drifting. Hope fixed on God, and on what Jesus has done, keeps us steady when everything else moves.
Bible Verses About Hope When You’re Hurting
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
Psalm 34:18 NLT
When we’re hurting, God doesn’t stand at a distance. He comes close.
The psalmist knew discouragement well, and he talked to his own soul about it:
“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!”
Psalm 43:5 NLT
Notice what he does with his feelings. He’s honest about them, and then he answers them with hope in God.
I wrote my book through hard seasons of my own. As I put it there:
“But right now, even as I am writing this book, I am struggling through my own trials. Yes, more than one. What helps me cope with my seemingly ever-present trials? Whenever I feel I’m getting stressed out about one of them, I shift my focus. I remember the purpose of trials. I remember what God has done for me in the past and what He has forgiven me. I read my Bible.”
Shifting our focus from the problem to God doesn’t make the problem disappear. It reminds us who is bigger than it. Isaiah describes what happens when we do:
“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31 NLT
Hope That Grows Through Trials
Hope isn’t only something that survives hard times. Scripture says hard times can grow it:
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”
Romans 5:3–4 NLT
Paul adds that this hope won’t disappoint us, because God has poured His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).
Paul’s short instruction in Romans 12 puts it into practice:
“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
Romans 12:12 NLT
Hope for Your Future
God spoke these words to His people in exile in Babylon, promising to restore them after seventy hard years (Jeremiah 29:10). The promise was made to Israel in their situation, but it shows God’s faithful heart, and it gives us reason to trust Him with our future too:
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
For years I lived looking backward, at mistakes and regrets. In the book I describe what changed:
“There are no rearview mirrors on God’s path or in His plan so there is no reason to look back; you are not going that way.”
Paul says the same:
“Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Philippians 3:13–14 NLT
Keep a Verse of Hope Close
Choose one verse from this page and keep it with you this week. Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 40:31, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 5:3–4, Romans 12:12 and Romans 15:13 are all on our Scripture Cards (opens in a new tab), made to carry in your pocket.
Go Deeper
These verses come from the hope chapter of my book, Renewing Your Mind: Living Life Intentionally, which looks at finding hope by shifting your focus, hope in trials, and why the best is yet to come.
Let Hope Renew Your Mind
Hope grows as God’s promises take root in how we think, especially on the hard days. At Renewing Your Mind Discipleship Ministry, we teach a simple way to engage God’s Word so it changes how you live, in four parts. We call it The Process.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
