Faith ... Hope... Love
I've always found even the sequence of the words quite interesting.
I've always found hope as a close kin to faith.... In fact, I think they may be two sides of the same Twinkie. But the goodness that everyone desires to get at is the white cream in the center. It is consistent in its placement, so I never have to doubt that when I bite through that Faith/Hope Twinkie in confidence, the goodness of God is poured out.
It's present even before I open the package and it can stand the test of time, seasons. It's the ultimate food for survival because there is no need to doubt that it has one of the longest shelf lives on Earth.
Faith is not the assurance of a situation, faith is our grounding in the reality of God, the Creator of the universe having our back, always, and that goes for times we don't even acknowledge Him in the equation. No matter how much non-faith I have in the presence of cream in that Twinkie, just pull away the surface and there's no denying it's the glue at the center of the Twinkie universe.
That is the position of the Father and how he abides with us in all things and through all things—and outlasts any preservative-filled snack cake. That faith in HIS presence moves us forward in the hope for tomorrow—but not for hope in our circumstances. We claim hope because of His presence inside our circumstances.
In fact, He shoots pretty straight in John 16:33: "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
In spite of all these trials and sorrows, He plainly states in verse above —the end is decided. And SPOILER ALERT we've already won.