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 5:5
We like to throw around the word “hope” so much, we don’t even realize how often we season our daily conversations with it. We may ‘hope’ it stops raining, or ‘hope’ we win the lottery. We may ‘hope’ to find the one we will marry, or ‘hope’ to become successful. We even ‘PUT our hope’ in things: our relationships, our country, our politicians, our doctors, and our favorite sports teams. That’s a lot of hoping. But no matter what we may hope for, putting our hope in all the wrong things will only lead to a lot of disappointment.
Hope isn’t a wish or a far-off future dream. It isn’t something we must wait for, work toward, or gain. Therefore, it also isn’t something we can lose. Because real hope isn’t a thing—real hope is a person named Jesus! It’s a Savior who died on a cross as a sacrifice for us so we could have relationship and life and a forever kind of future with Him! Real hope never disappoints, because when our hope is in Jesus, it is not wrapped up in a single one of our accomplishments or in any of our constantly changing circumstances.
When you put your hope in Jesus, rather than in things or people or circumstances, “hopeless” doesn’t show up when things in life don’t go the way you would have liked. And your heart won’t mistakingly hand your peace, security, comfort, and identity over to anything that won’t last. Because stuff will never bless you like Jesus will! So if your heart is looking for a hope it can hang onto, hand it to Jesus. He will NEVER let it go! You are deeply loved!
His name will be the hope of all the world. Matthew 12:21
are. We can shine His light in classrooms, in offices and waiting rooms, in checkout lines and at gas stations, at sporting events, and behind the wheels of our cars. He gives us everything we need to live like He lived His earthly life: compassionately, selflessly, and sacrificially.
Your job is to navigate your way through life with that “map” in your hands and your eyes on Jesus. Don’t