Alexander Pope wrote “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” Nothing can be less true in my opinion.
We need hope in our lives. We need to expect something better, don’t you agree.
The apostle Paul wrote these words to the Romans…
…hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5, NASB)
This isn’t the “hope-so” hope. (I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.) This is an assured hope—an eager expectation that God is at work in our lives.
One Bible scholar wrote this… “Present hurts and uncertainty over what the future holds create the constant need for hope.”[1]
This is certainly true. Many of you listening have been hurt. Many of you listening have uncertainty about the future. If you’re honest, you’d admit you have a constant need for hope.
I’ve been hurt too. I’ve experienced uncertainty. But I’ve also found my hope in the Lord—that eager expectation that God is still concerned for me and is working in my life.
Allow me to go back to Paul’s letter to the Romans, and let me know if you can hear the hope in his words…
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.[2]
That’s hope. Christians and all creation are waiting for the Lord to come again and repair the damage rebellion and evil have done to this world. That is the hope we have—a hope that will not disappoint. We must wait patiently. It will be well worth it. That is my hope—I hope you have this hope too!
[1] Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 996). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
[2] The Holy Bible: Today’s New International Version. (2005). (Ro 8:18–24). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
We need hope in our lives. We need to expect something better, don’t you agree.
The apostle Paul wrote these words to the Romans…
…hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5, NASB)
This isn’t the “hope-so” hope. (I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.) This is an assured hope—an eager expectation that God is at work in our lives.
One Bible scholar wrote this… “Present hurts and uncertainty over what the future holds create the constant need for hope.”[1]
This is certainly true. Many of you listening have been hurt. Many of you listening have uncertainty about the future. If you’re honest, you’d admit you have a constant need for hope.
I’ve been hurt too. I’ve experienced uncertainty. But I’ve also found my hope in the Lord—that eager expectation that God is still concerned for me and is working in my life.
Allow me to go back to Paul’s letter to the Romans, and let me know if you can hear the hope in his words…
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.[2]
That’s hope. Christians and all creation are waiting for the Lord to come again and repair the damage rebellion and evil have done to this world. That is the hope we have—a hope that will not disappoint. We must wait patiently. It will be well worth it. That is my hope—I hope you have this hope too!
[1] Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 996). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
[2] The Holy Bible: Today’s New International Version. (2005). (Ro 8:18–24). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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