“Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.”      Hebrews 6:18-19
What is this hope that holds us steady in the face of life’s turmoil?  Two sources of hope provide stable anchoring for our hearts in the winds and waves, one within this earthly life and one in our life to come.

Paul said that the riches of the glory of the good news he proclaimed is Christ in you, the hope of glory.   Colossians 1:27    It is a reassuring anchor to our despairing hearts to be promised that our Creator is steadily at work in our lives through the indwelling Christ and His Holy Spirit.  They are able to do in us what we, on our own, have never found possible.  They are able to make every life experience contribute to making our lives a thing of beauty, such that He is glorified and we are most fulfilled.  He expresses this confidence in Philippians 1:6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”  We are His workmanship.  (Ephesians 2:10)
Another source of hope lies in our future with God.  “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.”   1 Peter 1:3-4

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”   v. 13

This hope is in finally being made fully Christlike, as He has promised.  “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son . . .”    Romans 8:29

This is a lifetime process.  It is enhanced by keeping our gaze firmly on the Craftsman who is remaking us.  (Our hope in this life is enhanced by focusing our minds on our hope in the next life.)  “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”   1 John 3:3

My prayer for you and for me:

“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