Many of us are entering 2024 by making new year’s resolutions and wishes. Hopefully, your wish will come true. Accordingly, this sharing is dedicated to our hopes.

There are 3 cardinal Christian virtues that Paul has repeated time and time again in his epistles – faith, hope, and charity (or love). I have met many Christian sisters named Faith and Charity. My favourite name is Hope but I have yet to meet a sister with that name. Why is that so?

Perhaps the reason is that hope does not enjoy a great reputation in the 21st century.  

In stable times, we have no need for hope. Everything seems so certain and firm. 

Yet when times are not so good, in times of uncertainty, we need hope. And yet in those moments, when we need hope the most, we dare not for fear of huge disappointment.  

But Paul’s writings in the book of Romans cast hope in a totally different light – a strong anchor in uncertainty.  

Hope has 4 letters – H.O.P.E. In this message, I would like to describe Paul’s HOPE in reverse order (EPOH) and illustrate it with an experience when I was out of a job in the late 1990s.  

1. “E” stands for eagerly. In Romans 8:23-24, when Paul talks about the hope for bodily redemption, he used the word “eagerly”. How eager? So eager that the person groans for it. 

Biblical hope is a passionate eager hope. In 1998, I resigned from my job because of burnout. Every time I came home from an interview, my kids would rush up to me: “Dad, did you get the job?” They were so eagerly hoping that they were literally groaning. And I groaned with them.

2. “P” stands for perseverance. When we want something eagerly, we want it quickly and our passion dissipates fast. The Chinese have an apt description calling it “3-minute passion”. But biblical hope is not like that. It is not a passing fancy. Paul pointed to Abraham’s hope in Romans 4:18 as a good example of Hope. Even though aged Abraham had a hopeless (Paul said hope against hope) call to conceive a child, he never gave up. Biblical hope enables us to persevere. 

I sent out more than a hundred letters and received many negative replies. I was tempted to give up. But in hoping for God’s best – I pressed on.

3. “O” stands for overflowing. In times of desperation, we do not dare to hope because of fear of disappointment. We use the word hope only when there is no option left.

On the contrary, Paul said in Romans 5:3-4 – “suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint.” During uncertainty and suffering, when we persevere, Paul said, hope will not disappoint us. Not only that, but Paul said hope will grow, it will overflow by His power in Romans 15:13.  

4. “H” stands for happiness. By happiness, I really mean joy. Happiness is not the best word as it is dependent on stable circumstances whereas joy is not. As we hope eagerly and press on patiently, Paul said in Romans 12:11 – “be joyful in hope” (joy overflows).

My story had a happy ending. Six months later, I was miraculously offered a dream job to be the head of Canada and Asia for a multinational. It was a much bigger job than my last job. I experienced an incredible overflowing joy.

What led to my joy?

It was not because I was a naturally optimistic person believing that my personal dream will always come through. It was not because I was a prosperity theologian, believing that God will always bless me materially. It was not even because I got a great job. After praying, I remained jobless as I did not take the job believing it was not His will for me.  

I was joyful because what I desperately hoping for was to see that God really cared for me and my family’s groanings. Through the job offer, God reached down from heaven and showed me that He had not forgotten me. That day I learned that hoping in Him will never disappoint. Joy will always overflow as we hope in Him. And without hope, there will never be any joy.      

Pessimists dare not hope because they are too fearful to hope. Optimists fare better. They always hope for the best but they still are often disappointed by circumstances. Both optimists and pessimists can be passively waiting. But Christian hope is beyond being optimistic and pessimistic.  

Romans 8:28 indirectly describes hopefulness well. Hopeful people are eagerly trusting God’s best, resulting in joy that will overflow into our lives as we actively persevere in loving Him and following His will.  

As we start 2024, please pray for us. We are HOPING eagerly to become the missional seminary God has called us to be. Please pray for the power to PERSEVERE, and the EAGERNESS to look forward to the results of grooming missional pastors. Pray for JOY to OVERFLOW along the path.  

Wishing His best in your lives in 2024 as you follow Christ FILLED with HOPE.

Rev Peter Lin
President