“Let us hold fast the confession of hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

We are to “hold fast” (stay the course) without wavering the confession of hope. This is a double emphasis (hold fast, without wavering) to prioritize speaking hope. It doesn’t say “hold fast the thought thinking hope”, but it says confession. 

Here are five reasons to prioritize the confession of hope: 

1. Life is in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21) - Our words are not simply containers of information but they they help create what we are speaking about. (See also Ephesians 4:29, James 3:2, Genesis 1:3). Those who speak hope will create hope in them and around them. 
2. Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17) - if we want more hope in our lives, we need to hear hope. The “hope confessor” can largely determine the level of hope he has through hearing his own hope declarations. 
3. It is part of magnifying the Lord instead of magnifying the problem (Psalm 34:3) - As we focus on what we see God doing, rather than focusing on what we believe He is not doing, we strengthen our faith (see God bigger) and see God more in us and around us.
4. We become a stronger leader and positive influencer (Proverbs 29:18) - “Without a vision the people perish.” Hope is the belief the future will be better than the present and I have the power to help make it so. Hope is the fuel that keeps our vision strong. Vision is a key ingredient to dynamic, inspirational leadership. Hope leaders say, “We can and will make things better. What we are doing is significant.”
5. It forces us to get the healing we need for our souls (Psalm 23:3) - When we are called to be an incessant hope speaker, we will confront the self-limiting and God-limiting strongholds in our lives. These strongholds hate hope. As we detect what areas of our lives we cannot speak hope over, we will be compelled to pursue the help we need (e.g. Beliefs Training, counseling, sozo/inner healing, etc.) to overcome and demolish these strongholds so that we can truly consistently activate our confession of hope. 

“Let us hold fast the confession of hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). We relentlessly speak hope because He is faithful. This is not positive thinking, but it is biblical optimism. 

Before I conclude, let me say what I am not saying here. I am not saying we should be insensitive and disconnected to people’s pain and be like a parrot speaking hope phrases to people without really loving them. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

“So what are some good confessions of hope?” I am glad you asked. I have created twenty-five biblically-based declarations for leaders and influencers. Here are five of my favorite ones: 

• I will thrive no matter what happens (Philippians 4:11-13).
• In every situation I face, I have many options, solutions, and divine ideas. There is always a solution. (1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:5) 
• Even if the worst happens, I will be okay (Daniel 3:16-18). As we believe this, it takes the fear out of certain outcomes, which is a key to walking in faith and hope. Also, a University of Cincinnati study stated that 85% of what we worry about never happens, and most people find a successful way to navigate through the 15% that does. 
• My forward movement in life causes Red Seas to part (Exodus 14:15-21; Philippians 3:13). 
• I don’t wait for perfection to celebrate myself and be joyful (Philippians 3:12-14). 

(You can find the rest of these declarations on our website here under the last list of declarations titled "Increase Influence and Leadership".)

So where do we start in this journey of “holding fast to this unwavering confession of hope?” I suggest you do an experiment of speaking at least 100 declaration a day for a month and see what happens to your hope level. If you need truths to confess, check out my latest book, Declare It. It has 96 different life situations we could face with fifteen declarations for each.