May 4, 2015

hope does not disappoint



"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."
romans 5:5

disappoint: to make [someone] unhappy by not being as good as expected or by not doing something that was hoped for or expected... 
synonyms: cheat, dissatisfy, fail, let down
antonyms: content, gratify, satisfy

we can place our hope in a myriad of things - hope in getting a promotion, hope in being successful, hope in escaping, hope that a spouse will make everything better, hope in anything that will make you happier... and these can [and will] lead to disappointment - because it's a fleeting end. those things are just that - things. things that may temporarily bring happiness, but sooner or later you'll start hoping for something else, something better, something further out of reach.

i think if you just read that first little phrase in verse 5 and don't read the context, it'd be easy to say that hope does disappoint - that you've experienced hoping for something and don't get it..... because when you hope for some 'thing' you're bound to be disappointed. i've been there.... oh, a lot of times.

i love that the author of romans spells it out for us, gives us the formula and the answer for this hope that does not disappoint... the formula starts just two verses back:

"we 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."
romans 5:3-5

trials -> perseverance -> character -> hope

trials cause us to look past what we can see and look onto what we can't see - God. they cause us to realize that we're not in control and that ultimately, only He has control. trials cause us to persevere - choosing to keep going through the thick of it... which molds our character because we're no longer focusing on ourselves and what we want, but on God and what He wants....
giving us the buried treasure in the stormy trial: hope.

hope in what?
in God.

why hope in God?
because His love has been poured overflowing into our hearts, by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. GIVEN to us.

God has generously given His spirit, His love, His grace, and a life that goes on and on and on, a world without end... what we hope for isn't an "end" and it isn't a "thing"... it's a relationship that has no bounds and no end.

that's why we can boldly say that hope does not disappoint, because God does not disappoint or fail us - He does exceedingly above and beyond all that we expect, ask or think!

xo!
ash :)


2 comments:

  1. Beautifully written! And such a powerful reminder.

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    1. thank you! so glad this encouraged you! xo! :)

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