Hope is an anchor for the soul according to the writer of Hebrews. How can one have their soul “anchored” so to speak? Please allow me to provide an illustration. I spent five years in the United States Navy. During that time, I served aboard an aircraft carrier. Aircraft carriers are massive. When we visited ports we often could not pull alongside a pier because of the size of the boat. Instead, we dropped anchor off the coast.
We had two huge anchors. However, while anchored off the coast the boat could still drift. My team would take regular readings of our location and manually map it. If we drifted too far off our original anchor point we’d pull up anchor and redeploy them.
A slight drift was expected. Too much drift was dangerous.
So is our life. The Christian’s spirit is renewed. Our soul, however, needs constant care and attention.
Life is tough. Denying ourselves and picking up our crosses can be painful. We need fresh infusions of hope to keep us on track.
Old Testament Bible Verses About Hope
Ezra 10:2 Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.
Job 4:6 Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?
Job 13:15 Though he slays me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.
Psalms of Hope
The Book of Psalms provides encouragement and hope. Here’s the link to a popular article titled, Psalms of Hope When Money Is Tight.
Psalm 9:18 For the needy will not always be forgotten; the hope of the oppressed will not perish forever.
Psalm 31:24 Be strong and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord.
The Acrostic Psalm
Psalm 119:49 Remember your word to your servant; you have given me hope through it.
Psalm 119:74 Those who fear you will see me and rejoice, for I put my hope in your word.
What is the Fear of the Lord? Here’s an article that clears up the confusion around The Fear Of The Lord.
Psalm 119:147 I rise before dawn and cry out for help; I put my hope in your word.
Psalm 119:166 Lord, I hope for your salvation and carry out your commands.
Bible Verses About Hope In Proverbs
Proverbs 10:28 The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.
Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Here are dozens of Bible verses about Joy and Happiness.
Proverbs 23:17-18 Don’t let your heart envy sinners; instead, always fear the Lord. For then you will have a future, and your hope will not be dashed.
Proverbs 24:14 Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
Bible Verses About Hope In The Prophets
Isaiah 49:23 Kings will be your guardians and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who put their hope in me will not be put to shame.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 31:17 There is hope for your future— this is the Lord’s declaration— and your children will return to their own territory.
Lamentations 3:24 I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”
Hosea 12:6 But you must return to your God. Maintain love and justice, and always put your hope in God.
Zechariah 9:12 Return to a stronghold, you prisoners who have hope; today I declare that I will restore double to you.
Hope An Anchor For The Soul — The Acts
Acts 2:26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope.
Acts 23:6 When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!”
Acts 26:6-8 And now I stand on trial because of the hope in what God promised to our ancestors, 7 the promise our twelve tribes hope to reach as they earnestly serve him night and day. King Agrippa, I am being accused by the Jews because of this hope. 8 Why do any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
The Epistle of Hope: Romans
Romans 5:2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Hope never disappoints!
Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Faith, Hope, and Love
I Corinthians 13:7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
I Corinthians 13:13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.
2 Corinthians 3:12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we are very bold.
Hope Through The Blood Of Christ
Ephesians 2:12-13 At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Here’s a link to an article featuring 26 Verses About The Blood of Jesus.
Colossians 1:27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
I Thessalonians 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled and put on the armor of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation.
I Timothy 4:10 For this reason we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
The Blessed Hope
Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Hope An Anchor For The Soul
Hebrews 3:6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast.
Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.
A Living Hope
I Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
I Peter 1:21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
I John 3:3 And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.
Strange New World
I recently finished the book Strange New World by Dr. Carl Trueman. I can’t recommend this book strongly enough. The author lays out a difficult case for our current societal state. Toward the end of the book, Dr. Trueman recounts a conversation that he had with a friend.
Trueman refers to his friend as pessimistic in his writing style. The friend, Rod Dreher, indicates that he is neither pessimistic nor optimistic but that he is hopeful (Strange New World page 185).
That’s exactly where I want to be. I want to remain in a state of hopefulness even when things appear to be crumbling around me.
Romans 15:13 (NLT) I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.