Biblical hope, gospel hope, drives us to live purposeful, productive, spiritually aware lives that transform the ordinary stuff of life into opportunities for thanksgiving, testimony, and self-counsel in the little skirmishes of daily life and for life-altering preparation for the big skirmishes of life.

A friend called and asked about my day. I sighed: “Same old, same old! Laundry, dishes, meals, and a doctor’s appointment later.” You could answer the same question with whatever fills your days—driving, your job, cleaning, meals, homework, childcare, car repairs, home maintenance, appointments, shopping, laundry, milking the cow, weeding, mowing—you fill in the blank. Ninety-nine percent of life is taken up with the ordinary. Our daily responsibilities can feel like my reply: “Same old, same old.” Daily routines, along with the attending interruptions and inconveniences, can all seem unimportant. In fact, we often look for the moments when we can escape. A night out, a party, or an unexpected visit or phone call can seem like a breath of fresh air, more meaningful and important than our daily treadmill.

But there is spiritual danger that dogs the ordinary. We grow accustomed to daily routines. They can begin to feel insignificant. That’s how the world interprets the routines of daily life, as ho-hum—boring, meaningless, and without purpose. Here’s the danger. We can become complacent over how we think about daily life. And of course, how we think shapes the way that we respond. You hear that in my weary reply to my friend. What was missing in my response? I believe that it was the unseen world of spiritual reality. My eyes focused only on the mundane tasks at hand. I was like Peter walking on the water: “Oh, no! I’m going down!” My spiritual eyes were closed.

The unseen world, from which God dispenses His love and care through His Son, is the storehouse of hope for His people. Our hope for our daily lives, our hope for trials, our hope for the future and for eternity flow from that unseen world. We cannot accurately understand or interpret our experience of life without reference to the unseen world of spiritual reality. Our hope for living robust and meaningful lives is gutted of its power without reference to this unseen world. We fall into lackluster daily living. Sadly, biblical hope is often a casualty when we miss the role that our daily, ordinary lives play in God’s plan.

Biblical hope isn’t wishful thinking. Biblical hope has Christ’s incarnation, perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection stamped on it by God’s acceptance of His work (Heb. 6:19–20). It is present hope (1 Tim. 6:17), future hope (Jer. 29:11), and eternal hope (2 Thess. 2:16–17; Titus 1:1–3; 3:4–7). It is sure hope (Heb. 6:13–19) and living hope (1 Peter 1:3–5, 13; see 1 Tim. 4:10; 6:17). Biblical hope is essential for transforming the ordinary routines of life into extraordinary opportunities to practice our faith. Hope in Christ allows us to live ordinary lives in this seen world, the world that we can see and touch and feel, with one foot securely planted in the unseen world.

Scripture unfolds the unseen world of spiritual reality from Genesis to Revelation. Consider David the shepherd boy. What could be more mundane than tending sheep in the wilderness? But it was in the context of his mundane work as a shepherd that David learned to focus on the unseen world. He ruminated on the history of Israel. He rehearsed the Hebrew Scriptures that he had been taught. He considered who the Lord is and what that meant for his life. Hope for the present, for the future, and for all eternity sprang to life as David applied his faith to daily life. His faith was strengthened and informed during those lonely days.

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