It Takes Courage to Follow God

When someone we know and/or love commits suicide, we wonder what happened to drive the person to such an end. We may very well ask, “Where did his (or her) hope go?” Hope is something we all desire, and the defining answer for anyone’s hope is the thing or person in whom they have placed their hope.

For non-Christians, hope is a nebulous term – a noun that is like a wish that seems unattainable. Hoping (for many) is wishing for something they can’t do or have but desire it to happen anyway. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines hope as, “A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.” For Christians, hope is a noun and also an active verb based on a promise.

Why then does hope take courage?

What Is Biblical Hope?

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary follows the first definition of hope with a biblical one, calling hope a noun. “Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well-founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises.” What is good? Jesus defined good to the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-22 when He directed him to look at God alone as good (cf. Mark 10:17-22, Luke 18:18-23). So, then, our expectation of good comes from the standard of good — God.

Bible Verses about Hope

 “

What Is Worldly Hope?

“I played the numbers! Oh! I hope I win the lottery!” Have you ever heard that? Like winning the lottery, or remaining illness-free for the rest of their lives, worldly hope hinges on a precarious belief that if we hope hard enough, the thing (or person) we wish for will happen. Or if all things fall together by chance, then we will gain what we hope for. 

Worldly hope is grasping at the wind and expecting it to stay in our hands (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Solomon knew in whom his hope was sure, and he called worldly pursuits vanity. He summarized life with this succinct statement, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Why Does It Take Courage to Follow God?

Courage may be defined as bravery — to remain steadfast in a belief when any and all odds appear hopeless to overcome.