The Christian’s hope is more important than most children of God realize.  The Hebrews writer put it into perspective when he referred to it as an anchor.

Hebrews 6:18-19 (ESV)
¹⁸  So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. ¹⁹  We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,

An anchor holds a ship or boat in place, preventing it from drifting from a desired spot.  This is what hope does for us.  It anchors us in Christ, stopping us from drifting back into the world where only condemnation awaits us.  It is this function of hope that saves us.

Romans 8:24 (ESV)
²⁴  For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

Hope gives us the sustaining power that we need to be steadfast and unmovable.  The devil is always trying to cause us to stumble and fall.  As long as we keep our hope before us, we have the edge over him.

What is our hope?  It is the coming of our Lord and Savior, Who will take us to our home in heaven where we will spend eternity in our glorified bodies.  So, Jesus is the “Who” of our hope, heaven is the “where” of our hope, and our glorified bodies is the “what” of our hope.  As long as this hope is our main focus in life, we will be sustained by our desire for it to come to fruition.

1 John 3:2-3 (ESV)
²  Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

The key for us is to not allow the circumstances of our lives to cause us to lose our heavenly focus.  This can happen when things turn dreary in our lives or when things are going too good.  The trials of life can cause us to be discouraged, while the material blessings of life can steal our hearts and cause our hope to fade.  Keeping our hope before us and making it the primary goal of life is something we do on purpose.  

1 Peter 1:13 (ESV)
¹³  Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

This is strong language.  Hope is not to be an afterthought to us, but the main focus of our lives.  Peter said we are to “hope fully…”  for the time when Jesus comes back.  None of our earthly activities, goals, or dreams should ever overshadow our desire and expectation of Jesus coming back.  We must, as Paul said, set our minds on things above, not on things that are on earth (Colossians 3:1-2).  We are saved by this hope.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.