Many Christians get hope confused with faith in their thinking, believing them to be somewhat the same thing. Not so. Hope first comes into play when a promise is given (the same promise we later put our faith in). But hope is different from faith; by definition it is a desire with some expectation of fulfillment. Who hopes for something they don’t want? Anticipating something you have absolutely no desire for would be senseless! And so would hoping for something that you had absolutely no expectation of ever happening.

I might desire to have the glory and sense of accomplishment that being an Olympic runner would bring, but I have zero expectation of it ever being fulfilled. Or I might have some expectation that one day I may have to run for my life from an assailant, but I have no desire for it ever to happen. Neither scenario combines both of the underlying qualifications that make hope possible—that is, a desire along with some expectation of fulfillment. No, we must possess a desire for what we hope for. And we must also have some expectation, no matter how small, that it might be possible.

Hope is the great motivator; no accomplishment—or even action—in life is possible without hope first being present. God has set the following progression in stone: first hope is born in our heart through the promise of the Gospel. Then in drawing us to Himself, God gives us the gift of faith by which we act on that hope. Through faith we receive His promise, being born again and becoming a new creation. Justification, righteousness, reconciliation, redemption and sanctification are all ours solely by the grace of God as we act on His promise by receiving Christ.(John 1:12) But ultimately it is a lifestyle of faith, validated by obedience, by which we obtain the fullness of that promise.(Philippians 3:13-14)