Looking for hope? Ready to get started with faith?

Everyone needs a little bit of hope, right? Do you have hope or need hope? Let’s be the dads who lean in and go to God’s Word to help us in our discovery and growth of hope today for the sake of our wives, kids, and world.

Leading with Hope: Trusting God’s Promises as Fathers

Romans 15:13 (NIV): "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."

This verse emphasizes that hope comes from God, and as we trust in Him, we can experience joy, peace, and an overflowing hope through the Holy Spirit.

Key Takeaways:

As fathers, we can lead our families in trusting God for their hope. By demonstrating our trust in God’s promises, we can create an environment of joy and peace in our homes, even amidst challenges.

Putting into Practice:

Encourage your children to develop a personal relationship with God, teaching them to trust in His faithfulness. Model a life of trust and reliance on God’s promises through your actions and attitudes, showing them what it means to overflow with hope.

God’s Plans for Hope: Guiding Our Children with Confidence

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV): "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

This verse reminds us that God has good plans for us, plans that include hope and a promising future, even during times of uncertainty or difficulty.

Key Takeaways:

Fathers can lead their families in trusting God’s plans, even when circumstances seem uncertain. We can reassure our children that God’s plans for them are good and filled with hope.

Putting into Practice:

Share with your children the promises of God’s plans for their lives. Teach them to rely on God’s sovereignty and goodness, guiding them to find hope and confidence in His promises, regardless of life’s challenges.

Anchored in God: Teaching Children to Find Hope in Him Alone

Psalm 39:7 (NIV): "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." 

Here, the psalmist acknowledges that their hope is solely in God. It reflects the trust and reliance believers should have in God’s promises.

Key Takeaways:

As fathers, we can teach our children to place their hope entirely in God. By firmly anchoring our hope in Him and modeling this in our lives, we can inspire our children to follow suit.

Putting into Practice:

Encourage your children to cultivate a deep relationship with God, teaching them to seek Him as the source of their hope. Model a lifestyle of dependence on God in your words and actions, showing them that true hope is found in Him alone.

Secure in God’s Love: Nurturing Lasting Hope in Our Children

Romans 5:5 (NIV): "And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." 

This verse emphasizes that our hope in God will not disappoint us, as He pours His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Key Takeaways:

Fathers can lead their families in understanding that their hope in God is secure. By nurturing a deep awareness of God’s love, we can help our children find lasting hope in Him.

Putting into Practice:

Create opportunities for your children to experience and understand God’s love through prayer, worship, and acts of kindness. Teach them to rely on God’s love as the foundation of their hope, guiding them to trust in Him wholeheartedly.

Hope as an Anchor: Building Stability in Our Children’s Lives through Faith

Hebrews 6:19 (NIV): "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain." 

This imagery of hope as an anchor for the soul emphasizes its stability and security, anchoring us even in the midst of life’s storms.

Key Takeaways:

Fathers can teach their children to view hope as a firm anchor in their lives, providing stability and security amidst life’s uncertainties. By grounding them in the hope found in Christ, we can help our children navigate challenges with confidence.

Putting into Practice:

Help your children understand the concept of hope as an anchor by using tangible examples from nature or everyday life. Guide them to build their lives upon the solid foundation of faith in Christ, teaching them to trust in Him as their unwavering anchor in all circumstances.

Faith as the Foundation: Inspiring Hope in Our Children

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV): "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

This verse highlights the intimate connection between faith and hope. It defines faith as having confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we cannot yet see. In other words, faith provides the foundation for our hope. It enables us to trust in God’s promises, even when they are not yet fulfilled or visible to us. Faith allows us to anticipate and hold onto the hope of what God has promised, knowing that He is faithful to bring it to pass.

Key Takeaways:

As fathers, we can lead our families in cultivating strong faith, which serves as the bedrock of hope. By nurturing a deep and unwavering trust in God’s promises, we can instill in our children a resilient hope that transcends circumstances. Through our own example of living by faith, we can inspire our children to embrace a hopeful outlook on life, grounded in the assurance of God’s faithfulness.

Putting into Practice:

Engage your children in discussions about faith and its connection to hope, using age-appropriate examples to illustrate these concepts. Encourage them to cultivate their faith through prayer, reading Scripture, and seeking God’s guidance in their daily lives. Model a life of faithfulness and trust in God’s promises, showing them that true hope springs from a deep-rooted faith in Him.

Incorporating these scriptures into daily life and parenting can help fathers cultivate a family environment rooted in hope, faith, and trust in God’s promises.

Topic: EXPERIENCE HOPE

Verse: Romans 15:13 (NIV)

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.

Today’s Devotional points us towards the origin and meaning of the word hope and the connection to the word hop. It caused me to want to go and do some of my own research and I found the following:

Hope vs Hop

Certainly! The words “hope” and “hop” share a common linguistic origin but have evolved to have different meanings and connotations over time.

1. Origin:
   • Both “hope” and “hop” can trace their origins back to Old English and Proto-Germanic roots.
   • “Hope” comes from the Old English word “hopa,” which in turn has roots in the Proto-Germanic word “hopōną.”
   • “Hop” also has its roots in Old English, derived from the word “hoppian,” which is related to Proto-Germanic “huppōną.”
2. Meanings:
   • Hope: In its modern usage, “hope” refers to a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain outcome or future event. It carries connotations of optimism, anticipation, and trust in something positive happening.
   • Hop: “Hop” originally referred to a single quick jump or leap, often with both feet leaving the ground simultaneously. Over time, it has come to encompass movements associated with bounding or springing forward.
3. Connection:
   • While “hope” and “hop” may seem unrelated in their current meanings, they share a common thread in the sense of movement or progression toward a desired outcome.
   • In a metaphorical sense, “hop” can be seen as a physical manifestation of “hope.” Just as one might take a hopeful step forward, metaphorically “hopping” toward a desired goal or outcome, the word “hop” can symbolize progress or movement toward a positive future.
   • Additionally, both words convey a sense of energy and forward momentum. “Hope” fuels our aspirations and drives us toward our goals, while “hop” embodies the physical action or movement that propels us toward those aspirations.

In summary, while “hope” and “hop” may have diverged in their specific meanings and usage, they both stem from common linguistic roots and share underlying themes of expectation, optimism, and forward movement toward desired outcomes.

Insights provide by ChatGPT

Hope that causes us to leap forward

Today’s Devotional points to “the idea of leaping in expectation.” It continues to speak of anticipation and “looking forward to those things we know will happen”, providing “a feeling of optimism and a positive view of the future.” Let’s be Christian dads who exemplify and express this reality. Even as today is the day between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, let’s be the dads who are walking and living our lives for the sake of our wives, kids, and world with “positive anticipation toward a certain future” of eternity with God. Let’s be the dads who are prepared and ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us!

Hope for all occasions

Today’s Devotional calls out how in the Bible the word hope appears 154 times, doing a bit of research, I found it appears 55 times in the NIV translation in the Old Testament and 74 times in the NIV translation in the New Testament giving us 129 times. Digging deeper to try and find out which version has 154 versions, I discovered it is the King James Version. Today’s Devotional calls for us to “hop to it” and look into the other 153 instances of the word hope and “be hopeful today”.

“He is not only called the God of hope because He is the object of hope, but because He is the author of it; and all the Scripture is written to work hope in us, so saith v4 of the same chapter.”

THOMAS GOODWIN, PURITAN, ON ROMANS 15:13