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. – Romans 15:13 NLT

Hope is not the same as a wish, and being hopeful is not the same as wishful thinking. A wish is something we want and long for that may or may not become reality for us. Hope, on the other hand, is reality based on the promises of God and His Word and the understanding that God cannot lie. We can be confident in hope because there is not a “perhaps” in hope. It is real, concrete, and bold. Hope is eager confidence through complete trust in God. With a wish there is striving and uncertainty. But with hope there is peace and certainty. Hope is not based on fate, magic, or our efforts in crossing our fingers or throwing a penny in a well. Hope is based on our position as a child of God and, as such, recipients of salvation and all His truths and promises. Our hope is not only in God; our hope is God. And it is in this hope that we overcome all our fears because fear cannot live in hope.