Hope is, well, tricky. Those who have hope seem to make it through life in some of the toughest, darkest situations. Those who feel hopeless tend to wane away in even the best of times. This is because hope cannot exist in a vacuum. It doesn’t exist by itself. Hope always has an object of hope, something we are hoping for or something in which we place our hope. If that object is solid and unwavering, then the hope in that object will allow you to win a staring contest with Death itself. If that object has the consistency of quicksand, then you’ll soon find yourself trying to escape the very thing you put your hope in.
Proverbs 13:12 ESV
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Hope, according to Merriam-Webster, is to “desire with expectation of obtainment.”
Part of what makes hope so tricky is that there are, by design, degrees of hope. A high school student absolutely has a “desire with expectation of obtainment” to graduate high school. Once graduated, the feeling of seeing that hope fulfilled is awesome! But, then what? Most people either go to college or join the military. So we graduate college or boot camp, and then on to the next phase of life. But, if we keep placing all of our hope in such temporary things, eventually we find ourselves drowning in despair because it’s just not enough. No amount of education or success can ever sustain us for long. Yet, these lesser fulfillments of hope serve to point toward a greater fulfillment of hope.
Romans 5:1-5 ESV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
In Romans 5, Paul speaks of actually rejoicing in suffering for the sake of Christ, because the end result of this is hope. What kind of hope could possibly be worth suffering? Paul answers this question when he tells us that our hope in Christ will “not put us to shame.” Some translations say that “hope does not disappoint,” which is true. No one likes the feeling of disappointment, of being let down, and hope and faith in Christ will certainly not let us down. But the use of the word “shame” conveys something additional here. I always have one thought when I feel shame “I can’t believe I did that! What was I thinking?” Especially if it’s an event that others have witnessed. Yet, Paul assures us that even though we walk through suffering, trials, and tribulations, we will never have that “What was I thinking?” moment for putting our hope in Christ. We will experience that awesome feeling of fulfilled hope throughout eternity.
Yet, our hearts are such idol factories, and our minds are so easily swayed. All of us, at some point or another, will place our hope in temporary things. Whether it be a relationship, a marriage, a career, or for some, more destructive objects like drugs or alcohol. We are prone to place our hope in things other than Christ, and that is when we feel the most shame, even when we try to deny it.
So, rather than trying to find the next temporary thing to help get us through the next day, week, or month. Repent with me, and turn to Jesus. Seek Him as your Hope, Shelter, and Comfort.
Yet, we do not turn to Christ solely in hope that He will change our circumstances. Rather, “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Namely, that God will display His glory throughout the Earth; both in the end when He restores all things, and right now as He conforms us to His image through the circumstances in which He has placed us by the power of His Spirit. This is our great Hope.
May God give us the grace and strength.
