Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 
The way we use the word "hope" in everyday speech and the meaning of hope used in the Bible are two different things. When we say "I hope so" we simply mean "I desire or I wish."

Bible hope isn't wishing at all. It is earnest confident intense expectation -- and that's something else entirely. Acts 26:6 uses the phrase "hope of the promise"referring to the covenant God made with Abraham. That kind of hope is an earnest intense expectation that comes from God's promises. There's a vast difference between "I wish something would happen" and "I intensely expect that to happen."

Even when there is no natural evidence that what we hope for will come to pass, we can be expectant because we have faith in God's Word. Hope is always expectant, looking toward the future. Faith is always now! Without hope, faith has nothing to bring to pass.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
http://afministry.ning.com/