Speaking of Hope . . .

Can you guess which book of the Bible has the word “hope” in it the most times?

I think anyone who is familiar with the Bible, might guess Psalms, which shares that word 33 times (in the New Living Translation anyway). It is somewhat of a book about hope.

But what about the book in second place? This does depend on which version of the Bible you are looking at. But of the four different versions I checked, Psalms always came out on top and another book was next.

Let its morning stars remain dark. Let it hope for light, but in vain; may it never see the morning light. (chapter 3, verse 9)

Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope? (4:6)

And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut. (5:16)

Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety. (11:18)

Give up? It’s the book where God allows Satan to subject this righteous man to everything imaginable. He loses his animals, his servants, his income, and his children. He is struck with physical afflictions. This was all done to test this man’s faith, and even though he admitted how miserable he was, he never once blamed his misfortune on God.

Of course, we all know this was the Old Testament book of Job, with the main character being Job himself.

Reading his story needs to be a constant reminder to us to never give up hope. God is always with us, and no matter what we go through, God will hold onto us.