‘All my hope on God is founded;
He doth still my trust renew.
Me through change and chance He guideth,
Only good and only true.
God unknown,
He alone
Calls my heart to be His own.’
This hymn by Joachim Neander (English translation by Robert Bridges) is a most popular one, and it starts with the proclamation that all the singer’s hope is reposed in the Lord. This is apt for this period when we enter a brand-new year in the midst of Christmastide (from dusk of Christmas Eve until the eve of Epiphany). With the many celebrations of the season—the parties, potlucks, dinners, outings and events—starting to fit more fully in the rearview mirror as the calendar marches further away from January 1st, people often enter a reflective stage. Looking back at the year gone by, people count their blessings and consider how many of their goals they achieved, what targets were missed, and what pleasant surprises arose.
The other side of these reflections involves looking ahead at the year just started. People set out plans for their year, outlining their wishes, goals, and desires, with some even making New Year’s resolutions. Doing this is inherently optimistic, for people of faith and no faith alike, as it entails the belief that good things would be possible, doable, and achievable; it is thus an effort in hope. Hope that one would have life, health and agency. Hope that efforts would yield results. Hope that factors outside one’s control would work in one’s favour.
Still, hope is more than just wishes and goals for the new year; it can sometimes be lifesaving. So powerful a force is hope that it is a key tool in suicide prevention, even in secular mental health practice. This potency was underlined to me over a decade ago as I was taking a mental health first aid course, and it has stuck with me ever since. We were taught the importance of inspiring hope that tomorrow would be better, hope that things can turn around for good, and hope that all is not lost. In fact, from 2021 to 2023, the triennial theme for World Suicide Prevention Day was “Creating Hope Through Action.” Per the World Health Organisation, this was a “call to action and reminder that there is an alternative to suicide and that through our actions we can encourage hope and strengthen prevention.” Even outside of suicide prevention, in trying times, hope keeps us going; when passing through the dark valley, hope says that there is light once we crest the summit.
So, what is the best explanation of hope? It’s a common enough word with dictionaries presenting multiple definitions, but what does it mean for Christians? As one might expect, the Good Book points us to God. The Psalmist says, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.”[1] and “O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O LORD, from childhood.”[2] Isaiah 40:31 tells us, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
For us Christians, all our hope on God is founded. The very foundation of our hope on which our dreams can be realised is our faith in God—our firm trusting belief that our Heavenly Father loves us, cares for us, guides us, and fights for us. We can have hope for tomorrow because we have faith in our omnipotent God.
Hope is essential to Christian life, as St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:13: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Notwithstanding the supremacy of love, hope is also fundamental.
It is instructive to note at this juncture the distinction between hope and faith as they are separately listed by St Paul. Whereas both are often used interchangeably as they connote belief in a possibility, both can be contrasted.
As established above, hope can be an optimistic reflection of a generic level of belief and can be used in colloquial terms. Hope can remain within the realm of a wish, want, desire, or longing. We can hope that something will happen, things will turn out fine, all will be well, no matter the way events proceed. Faith, however, encompasses hope and connotes a greater quantum/level of belief. Hebrews 11:1a tells us, “Now faith is the assurance [ESV]/substance [KJV] of things hoped for…/confidence in what we hope for [NIV]…”. These translations show us that even as we hope for something, faith goes further in being the very firm belief or conviction that our hope will materialise through the grace of God.
It is noteworthy that there is a somewhat circular relationship between faith and hope in Christianity, as Christian hope rests on a foundation of faith in God. Because we have faith in our Heavenly Father who directs all our affairs, we can have hope that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”[3] We have hope in the heavenly afterlife as Saints Triumphant because of our faith in the Risen Christ and His resurrection power. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 tells us: “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
Therefore, let us go into this new year with great hope, secure in the knowledge that all will be well, for “…hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”[4] Personally, in all aspects of my life, I hold fast to the words of Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” These words give me great comfort and reassurance and underpin my eternally optimistic outlook on life.
In this vein, it is my hope that you had a very Merry Christmas, and I wish you and your loved ones a 2026 filled with sweetness, loveliness, bliss, peace, abundance, and all things good.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
[1] Psalm 39:7.
[2] Psalm 71:5.
[3] Romans 8:28.
[4] Romans 5:5.
