Prov. 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Heb. 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,
Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Rom.15:13, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are told 3 times in the Bible that the just live by faith. We come to Christ by faith, and having come to Him, we abide in Christ by faith daily. According to the Hebrews 11 passage, faith has a foundation on which it stands, and that foundation is hope. Therefore, often what the enemy does is attack hope in our hearts, because if there’s no hope, faith can’t spring up. It’s as if hope is the very soil from which faith comes up from. Again, in that Hebrews passage, the word hope is in the present tense, which means it’s to be a continual disposition. In other words, a person who lives a life of extravagant faith is a person who lives a life with consistent hope in their hearts. Either hope is abiding in us, or our hearts grow sick. It is very difficult for someone with despair in their hearts to exercise faith in the battle. God is a God of hope. and if their is any area of your life where you have lost hope, then that is a place where you’ve come into agreement with Satan. Hope is that interior attitude of confident expectation, and anticipation that Whatever you may face, or having been facing, God’s power and goodness will prevail. This is the precursor to faith. In the environment of Holy optimism in the character and power of God, we are able to exercise the faith that calls that which is not as though it were, in each new battle, from without or within. Hope is an anchor that keeps us stable in our walk of faith.
Rejoicing in the Lord always is all about hope. Rom. 12:12, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer… We persevere by faith, but only if you are already rejoicing in hope.