20-01-promises01-web

Day Nineteen
What the Bible Says About Hope
Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured
out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spiri t whom
he has given us. – Romans 5:5
Hope does not disappoint us. Oh, but you say I have
hoped for many things and have been disappointed
when I didn’t get them. That is not the hope which is
mentioned here.
The hope which disappoints is like hoping for that
special gift at Christmas. It is hoping that another
person will give us attention. It is hoping that we’ll
finally win the lottery. Hope based upon assumption
and unrealistic expectations will nearly always
disappoint us.
Paul is speaking about the hope which comes
through having placed our faith in Christ. The reason
this hope does not disappoint us is that it didn’t come
from our own wishful thinking. This hope comes from
the eternally faithful word of God.
This hope rises up from faith based upon our
relationship with the God of hope. It is hope that will
not disappoint or make us ashamed.
In Romans 5 Paul writes in verse two, “we have
access by faith… and rejoice in the hope.” Then he
relates that as we experience trials in our relationship
with the Lord we gain patience; patient serving
produces experience; and our experience of his gra ce
produces Hope – and this hope will not disappoint or
make us ashamed.