Hope does not disappoint

Look at all of the synonyms for the word hope:
promise, anticipation, expectancy, outlook, prospect, supernatural virtue

Here is the single antonym listed:
despair

What would we do without hope?  I think some people believe that hope is not spiritual enough, even though in scripture hope is always encouraged and applauded.  When our circumstances are desperate, the natural thing to feel is despair (same root word).  But God has another plan for us:

"We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment.  For we know how dearly God loves us because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love." (Romans 5:3-5)

I have been in situations that seemed desperate in the moment, even frightening when the outcome was unknown.  Someone you love is in an ambulance on the way to the hospital; a child has gone missing; a large amount of cash has been misplaced; you get the picture.  We've each had momentous burdens to bear and heartbreaking decisions to make.

Whenever I chose to stop fretting in the midst of these circumstances, I always felt the peace of God envelop me like a hug.  I would hear the familiar words of scripture in my head and allow that same word to fill my heart and bring peace.  I am not mad at God, nor do I blame Him for difficulties, for they have made me stronger.  Rather than run from Him, I have run to Him... sometimes it just took a little longer.

If you happen to be unfamiliar with the story of The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom, suffice it to say that she weathered more trials than any human should have to bear; yet in her own words:

It is not my ability, but my response to God's ability, that counts.

- Corrie ten Boom | God Quotes

Author Info

Corrie ten Boom (1892 - 1983) Dutch, Christian Holocaust survivor.

We never really know what we are made of until tested.  The ten Boom family broke the law of the land in order to do the Christian thing--hide Jews in their home, keeping them from the Nazis and certain death, until the entire family was arrested and sent to a concentration camp.  Corrie was the only one in her family who survived.  She knew that her hope, placed in God alone, would never disappoint.