Here's Hoping

“Hope does not disappoint us.” Romans 5:5

What are you hoping for? At times, my hope list is long. Right now, it’s short: I’m just hoping for a little time to myself after the children go to bed!

What we hope for makes a huge difference in how we live. Are we hoping to get a promotion? Then we put lots of time and energy into our jobs. Are we hoping to finish a marathon? Then we pour ourselves into training and building endurance. Are we hoping to just to get through the day? Then we drink more coffee and persevere.

The problem, of course, is that the hopes of the world tend to disappoint. The promotion doesn’t solve our problems. The exciting marathon finish leaves us longing for a better time, a longer distance. The end of the day doesn’t bring the relief we had hoped it would.

The promise of Scripture is clear: hope in God does not disappoint. It always delivers, always satisfies, never fails. Sing with me, “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!” The rest is just sinking sand.

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson