What have you been hoping for? Salvation for a loved one? Healing from sickness? Peace in your home? Maybe you have been too afraid to even hope because you dread the possibility of disappointment if you were to hope again. Or possibly, you cannot even remember the last time you had hope, because your heart has been so broken.
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”Proverbs 13:12 NASB
When we experience disappointment in life, it can be easy to lose hope. Scripture tells us that the pain of a hope deferred can feel like heartbreak. Yet, in His word, God also promises to fill us with hope. How can we be filled with hope in the face of a hopeless situation?
Recently, I walked through a season of disappointment that left me full of hurt. While I still trusted God, I just couldn’t bring myself to hope again. Why should I get my hopes up, only to be let down again?
A friend of mine shared a devotional recently that completely changed the way I view hope. She shared how God will disappoint our hopes — the hope we put in others, in a situation, or in our own ability — to teach us to find our hope in Him.
You see, God never abandoned me. His plans for my life were still good. When that person walked out of my life, when the job I wanted fell through, or when the dream I had died, God had not forgotten me. The truth is, even in the face of disappointment, I have a hope that never disappoints.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and 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
God wants to restore your hope today. No situation is hopeless, because God is our hope. If you are afraid to hope again or are weary in the waiting, I challenge you to put your hope in Christ. I promise when you do, you will find a hope that does not disappoint.
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