What is it that you truly hope for? To win the lottery, despite the odds being slimmer than a lightning strike? To rise as a famous singer, even if you’re not sure you can carry a tune? Perhaps you’re waiting for your team to lift the World Cup trophy—at least that dream has a fighting chance. Or like every beauty contestant asked the big question, your hope is something grand and universal: world peace. 

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The difference between secular hope and spiritual hope is allowing the Holy Spirit to accomplish what the Heavenly Father has planned.  For a Christian believer, our hope is not “just maybe it will happen” but an expectation that is built on God’s ability to do the impossible. It is not a state of hopelessness, but of an expectation formed from understanding God’s purpose.  

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Our spiritual hope is built with the direction of the Holy Spirit. It is through prayer and seeking God’s wisdom that we can make the difference between a secular blind desire and what will be pleasing to the Lord. 

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It is a hope that makes Romans 15:13 real in our lives - “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

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Is your walk one of utter trust in God’s direction? If so, then Isaiah 40:31 is true of you: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” 

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What is the purpose God planned for you? For multitudes of people, it is not a grandiose world changing work, but a simple one such as words of encouragement or knowing when to go deeper in your spiritual talk with him/her. That is all God expects—an open heart for Him to use.