Fantasy Football leagues are starting up everywhere (JOIN ONE OF OUR LEAGUES HERE!) and drafts are taking place with Fantasy owners deciding their picks for each round.

All of these choices are based on one word…hope!

We hope the players we pick will either outperform their stats from last year or their predicted stats for this season and be the steals of the draft.

We hope our starting running back doesn’t get injured and we hope our wide receiver has strong chemistry with his quarterback.

We hope we selected the right sleepers and the players who will shine on the field throughout the season.

We hope the rookies we drafted to be on our Fantasy team will contribute right away and not hit the rookie wall later on.

We hope we make the right roster moves throughout the year as we add and drop players and consider trades with league mates.

Ultimately, we hope to win every Fantasy matchup and be the champion at the end of the season.

The definition of hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”

Many of us today can relate to this in our own lives as we hope to keep or get a job…or stay or get healthy. We also might hope to sell our house, have a baby, make more money, get married, or raise good kids.

We all have desires for certain things to happen in our lives but realize there’s no guarantee.

Although we want to be filled with hope each day about our Fantasy team and our life (instead of being discouraged or negative), there’s a difference between hope attached to a desire and hope attached to a promise.

The Biblical description of hope in the New Testament isn’t based on “a feeling of expectation,” but rather a certainty in something that is not yet realized. It’s not just a desire, but deep confidence that it will happen. This hope is rooted in Jesus and attached to the promises of God.

Romans 5:2 (AMP) explains, “Through Him, we also have access by faith into this [remarkable state of] grace in which we [firmly and safely and securely] stand. Let us rejoice in our hope and the confident assurance of [experiencing and enjoying] the glory of [our great] God [the manifestation of His excellence and power].”

The footnote says that in the New Testament “the word ‘hope’ expresses a cherished desire along with the confident assurance of obtaining that which is longed for.”

Of course, we hope for things to happen here on earth, but when we receive Christ we know we’ve been given salvation, eternal life, and access to the God of the universe.

The hope we now have is a confident assurance for our soul and because of that, we rest in knowing that even when we don’t get the job or improved health, we still cling to God’s promises.

Romans 12:12 (AMP) gives us these encouraging words: “constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ]…”

Hebrews 6:18-19 (NLT) tells us, “So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.

“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. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”

There are no promises in Fantasy Football, but God’s Word is filled with them. So today, let’s place our hope in the One who is worthy to be trusted.

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are my refuge and my strength. My hope is in You, Lord, and I praise You for the assured confidence You give to my soul. Thank you that my hope for eternity is secure in Christ and that I can cling to Your promises. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.