“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:5 NIV).
“Hope for the best,” my mother used to say. And I would ask myself, “Why would anyone hope for anything other than the best?” If not the best, why spend the effort to hope at all? One of the saddest things I have ever observed is a person with no hope. You see, an attitude of hope comes when we have made peace with God through faith.
Paul tells us that once we have repented of our sins and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we can now “boast in the hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). And then Paul goes into an explanation of how we arrive at an attitude of hope. In verses 3 and 4 he tells us that it begins with our own suffering. Paul says we glory in our suffering because we know that suffering produces perseverance. I can identify with this as I recall suffering through several different scenarios throughout my life. One was the loss of a job. I had been with the company for eight years and they let me go for what they said were political reasons.
It came as a great surprise, but as it turned out, I discovered things about myself that I didn’t know. I could survive and I did. I have an awesome God who brought me through the experience wiser and stronger. I can rejoice because I know that whenever I face trials, He is building my character. I certainly didn’t know the plans God had for me. But, as usual, the prophet Jeremiah was right. They were “plans to prosper me, and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Romans 5:4 tells us that character produces hope. Paul explains why we have hope. He says that it happened at just the right time, when we were still powerlessly living in our sin; Jesus died for us ― the ungodly. And then Paul goes on to explain that very rarely would anyone die for a good person, but someone might possibly care enough to die for a good friend. God showed how much He loved us because he died for us while we were still sinners! We were enemies of righteousness when He chose to take on our sin and become the ultimate sacrifice.
Because we have been justified by His blood, we are saved from the wrath of God! We have been reconciled to God and we can always “hope for the best” because it is the Very Best that saved us. People with an attitude of hope have an air of confidence and that extra little sparkle in their eyes! And that confidence is because we have the gift of faith. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Through faith we let our attitude of hope and confidence shine brightly.
Dear Lord, thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross for my sins. I praise You for Your plan for me and the universe. Because You have given me faith, I will not be ashamed of the hope You have put into my heart through the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is an excerpt from the forty-day devotional, “Attitude Matters”. Click here to order.
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