Hope Does Not Disappoint

(This post was partly written several weeks ago. Since then, it has been sitting in it's draft form... waiting for a piece that I was missing. Waiting for something - I didn't know what. This morning in church, I discovered the "what". I am grateful that I have a church, a pastor, and this morning in particular, a pastor's wife, that are obedient to the Spirit's leading and promptings. Thank you Tiffany.)
Here we are, still at the beginning of a new year. A new year that no doubt started with lots of promise. If you're like me, you tend to look at the start of a new year with a blank slate... You look at all the wonderful things that God might have in store for you in the next 12 months! But maybe, there have already been trials. Maybe, that beautifully bright future has already begun to be somewhat tainted by events that you would rather have avoided. This isn't meant to be one of those dark and depressing posts about how rough life can be... quite the contrary! I want to take a few minutes to talk about how the process of going through the trial can be the method through which God ultimately brings about that beautifully bright future. This post is about taking heart!

I have often struggled with the words of James about how we should respond to adversity...
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." 

It doesn't always seem helpful, especially in the moment, to consider tribulations "pure joy" just because perseverance must "finish it's work" for us to be "mature and compete". Yes, this is good. Yes, we can take solace in this, but often times it isn't quite enough it seems.

Paul, however, offers us another piece to the puzzle. In Romans, he provides us another way to understand why patience and perseverance are good things.

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. (Romans 5:3-5 NKJV)

 For me at least, this gives us a more tangible benefit of trials and tribulations. They produce perseverance... which leads to character... which leads to hope. And hope does not disappoint!
Image Source: http://www.raebear.net/bible/blog/2009/03/22/romans-53-5-artwork/

 Why does hope not disappoint? Because hope, when mixed with faith, is what allows us to get through the trials. As we're are going through whatever we may be facing, we aren't just left to say "I hope this works out OK". Rather, with a hope that doesn't disappoint and the faith that goes along with that, we are able to say "I know this will work out OK!"

 So... Take heart! Whatever it is that you may be going through... it has a purpose. Listen to and watch the video below. Let the words speak to your heart and your soul. My prayer is that you are encouraged and equipped to face anything that comes your way.





Location: Milton, GA, USA

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