Hope That Won't Disappoint

Romans 5:1-5
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

There are so many awesome truths in these verses; it would be impossible for me to get to all of them in one blog post. A couple of truths that blessed my heart today . . .

In the Greek, the word for rejoice and glory is the same, meaning to boast. We are to boast, not only in our future hope, but also in our tribulations (present troubles, physical hardship, suffering, distress, etc.). How can I possibly boast in my tribulation? Because by God's grace and through His Holy Spirit, my tribulations produce a hope that does not disappoint. Awesome.

A couple of ways in which this hit home for me today . . .

Last week I began weaning Camden - and it has been a much greater struggle than I anticipated. It has been good in the sense that it has humbled me and reminded me how much I need God's help in every life circumstance. As I was reading this passage this morning I was reminded of the importance of glorying, rejoicing, boasting in this trial and of the importance of me praising God for the hope that He is producing in my character.

The second way in which this passage hit home was in regards to our waiting to hear back from the church that we interviewed with last month. We will be hearing back from them within the next few weeks, and I have been struggling to keep my hope in God and not in this ministry possibility. As I read these verses in Romans, I was reminded of the greatness of the gospel and of the greatness of the God in which my hope is placed. My commentary stated, "The hope that believers have of their future glory with God will not disappoint them by being unfulfilled. They will not be put to shame or humiliated because of their hope. The reason the believer can be so confident is that the love of God has been poured out. The moment a person trusts in Christ, that person receives the Holy Spirit who constantly encourages them in their hope in God."

When my hope is in anything other than my God, it will be disappointed. That hope, or expectation, will at some point not be met. When my hope is in God it can never be disappointed. I'm praising God for this truth today!