What gives you the most hope? Do you place your hope in your educational goals, career goals, or relationship goals? I’ve certainly been guilty of all three. Growing up in a family where academic mastery is expected has pushed me to strive for excellence, but it has also led me to place an unhealthy amount of my worth in my grades. I was always told that I’d have my pick in any career path if I just got enough experience and connections, but life doesn’t always work out that way. And of course, I’ve often idolized finding meaningful friendships and romantic relationships, but even these great blessings will never fully satisfy. Hope in Christ is the only hope that lasts. Whenever I place my hope in things of this world, I always find myself let down. As I’ve practiced placing my hope in God and His promises, however, I’ve rediscovered a sense of joy that perseveres even in the hardest circumstances. 

“We think hope might actually kill us, and some of this is because so often we hope for things that don’t come true.” This is a quote from Dr. Lynneth Renberg from her chapel on the theological virtue of hope. Do you ever feel exhausted by hope? It can feel so hard trying to plan for the future and not get disappointed anytime your plans fall through. College is definitely a time when people feel pressured to have their entire life figured out and place their hope in whatever major will equip them for their dream career. But if there’s anything I’ve learned about hope lately, it’s that hope can’t be rooted in my ever-changing feelings. “Feelings reflect our perceptions and emotions, not virtue and steady truths,” Dr. Renberg explained. “They’re not always accurate in what they tell us about God and about the world. So, hope as a virtue rooted in God cannot be a feeling.” I’ve hoped for many things that I’ve later learned were not part of God’s plan for my life and that it was by His grace that He redirected my dreams. God is the one with the full picture, not me. He is steady, sovereign, and safe. 

True hope is meant to last. When we place our hope in what the world can give us, we will always be disappointed because the things of this world are fleeting. Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” God blesses us with many wonderful, beautiful things of this world, but they were never designed to be our eternal focus. Only Christ is our living hope. “We know God is steady. God is lasting. So therefore, hope cannot be fragile and tenuous either,” Dr. Renberg affirmed. “Hope is Christ, who He is, and what He has done for us.” When we place our hope in the person and work of Jesus Christ, we can rest assured that our hope will never be put to shame. 

Building on this idea, true hope must find its sure fulfilment in Christ alone, not in anything we have accomplished. “Hope is not dependent [on] our own actions or our own strength,” Dr. Renberg expressed. “Our hope is in what Christ has done and in how He carried all of the burden for us, not in our own actions.” When was the last time you stayed up late trying to figure out your class schedule in Workday or rearrange your entire LinkedIn profile with the hope that enough effort and planning would guarantee results? Maybe you’ve had a few panicked phone calls with friends and family, voiced your fears for the future, and found yourself overwhelmed by it all. Let me remind you that there is a better way. You don’t have to have it all figured out now. You already have the most important part worked out if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ. As you learn to trust Him with more and more of your life, you’ll find that your hope and joy continue to persevere even when life doesn’t go the way you once hoped. We have an unshakeable hope in the Lord. 

Paul reminds us in Romans 15:13 of the hope we have in Christ through our relationship with Him: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” When we trust in the Lord, the very God of hope revives us and sends us His Holy Spirit to bring us a renewed hope in His promises for our lives. It is such a comfort to me that God brings us this assurance as we align our hearts and wills with His good plan for us. While this world has an abundance of false hopes that ultimately disappoint, God “has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). There is no question about why Christ should be our greatest hope. He willingly sacrificed His own life to draw us near to the Father again, and we have been offered new life through Him. “Unlike false hope, our hope is true and gives life,” Dr. Renberg explained. “Christ is the hope that does not fail, that does not put us to shame, that does not fade.”  

I have hope in this life and the next because of Jesus Christ. My Lord and Savior is worthy of my faith in His finished work and my enduring hope for what He promises will come. Do you have your greatest hope in the Lord? I challenge you to examine what it is that consumes your thoughts and guides your decisions. Consider the blessings in your life that have taken root as idols in your heart. I know how easy it is to let things like grades, jobs, and relationships dictate what you do and what you pursue, but remember that these hopes can never compare with the true hope we have in Christ. He is our living hope. We serve the God of hope. May we all be filled with an everlasting hope today as we anticipate the fulfilment of everything the Lord has promised us.