Today, we express hope as if we can’t be sure what will really happen. We say, “I hope I will win that prize. I hope it won’t rain tomorrow. I hope everything works out well.”
But “hope” in the Bible is a confident and positive expectation of good. God wants you to have a confident expectation of good because as His child, He favors you. Because Christ is in you, the hope of glory (see Colossians 1:27), you can expect the glory of God to shine into every area of your life, including your family, job, ministry, health and finances!
God’s Word says, “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.” You may have experienced disappointed hopes, but there is a hope that does not disappoint when you are conscious of how much God loves you. It is a hope that springs from the heart of God, who loves you very much.
It is interesting that the first mention of the Holy Spirit in the book of Romans is tied up with the love of God. The book of Romans is considered foundational for Christians. Could it be that the first thing the Holy Spirit wants to do is to establish in our hearts that God loves us? Many people think that the Holy Spirit has come to teach us about power. But the truth is that the Holy Spirit has come not to reveal the love for power, but the power of love!
My friend, you may have just lost your job. But if you can say, “Jesus loves me this I know,” you can also say, “I believe that I will get a better job tomorrow.” Your girlfriend may have just left you for your best friend. But because you can say, “Jesus loves me this I know,” you can also say, “I’ll meet a better girl.”
When you believe that God loves you, you will have a positive expectation of good. You will have a hope that does not disappoint. So be careful what you hope for because you are bound to get it!
"I'M HERE TO TELL YOU" EDITOR'S NOTE
Are you conscious of how much God loves you? The bible says we can't be - it's too much for us to understand. One way is to understand is that He died for us to redeem us. The bible says that there is no greater love than for someone to lay down their life for another. That's easy to understand. What's also hard to understand is that when we have this wonderful hope from heaven, we will always have a confident expectation of good. We never worry about what's next. We know that our Lord will provide. It's that Hope in our heart that fuels our life. When we realize God's love for us, we never have to worry again. We realize that life and all that comes with it is in the lord's hands and out of our control. Does this sound too simple? It is. Think of it this way - the way I've thought about it for years, God is our shepherd, we are His sheep. Sheep trust their shepherd for everything.
Be a sheep. Trust in the creator of the universe and always never mind.
