(3 Minute Read)

I heard an old Worship song today with a line in it that pierced my soul.

Have you ever had that happen?

A quote you’ve read, or a line from a song or movie you’ve seen many times just catches you off guard and you see the true meaning of it for the first time?

That’s how this felt. In the best kind of way.

The line, “But on that Day, what seemed as the darkest hour, A violent hope…” ran through my head all day today.

What is a “violent” hope?

Can hope even be described that way?

“Isn’t ‘hope’ passive and non-confrontational?” we’ve been trained to think.

For about a year now I’ve been on a journey of (re)discovering Hope. In Christian culture hope gets talked about quite a lot—with many ways to be described, but most often with the wrong (Biblical) definition, I think.

Hope is portrayed a lot of the time as a “wish” or a “desire” that we have, but not something we expect. It’s passive, not active, and that’s where (Christian) culture has gotten it wrong. Hope isn’t a whimsical or flimsy, off-handed wish that doesn’t carry weight. Biblically, Hope is a strong and firm foundation—a CONFIDENT expectancy in the power and authority of Jesus, and what He will do in our life. It’s an active disruption to the culture in, and around us.

Hope is violent because it is attached to the authority of Jesus. An authority that rests on Him because He overcame the things that we cannot overcome—sin, sickness, and death.

Hope is violent because it rips apart the fear (of the future) when it is accessed. Hope is a shredder to the paper known as despair.

Hope is violent because it actively fights and pushes back against the demonic realm of oppression, depression, anxiety, and sorrow. It’s a weapon of attack, not defense.

This violent Hope is also described as an anchor in the Bible. That’s where the lyrics of that old song struck me: I have a violent kind of hope that’s got me anchored in place.

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 6, there is a verse that states:

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever…”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭20‬

There’s more to this, theologically, than I can write about here, but I want to challenge and encourage how we view, and wield Hope in our lives! Our hearts and souls were created to have our source of Hope anchored outside of ourselves, and even our world. We were created to have our Hope found in the man named Jesus Christ.

He is Hope.

Is your hope based on yourself or your swaying circumstances? Or is it found anchored where Jesus is?

Are you letting Hope play an active, albeit violent, role in your life?

Let us be a people who’s Hope is not just circumstantial. Let us be a people who’s Hope is sure and steadfast, because it’s anchored to a firm Foundation.

Pick your hopes up and place them back where they belong—through the veil, on the royal seat of King Jesus. He’s your source. He’s got your anchor and He’s not letting go.

With gentleness and wisdom,

Seth