Hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Romans 5:5 (NRSV)
This statement about hope from the Apostle Paul comes at the end of a list of qualities suffering produces in a person’s life. Ouch. If you are like me, you don’t want to have to go through the suffering in order to get to the love. But, for better or for worse, this is how God chooses to shape us.
Peter makes a similar list which includes qualities like goodness, self-control, and godliness, ending in the same place Paul does with love. (2 Peter 1:5-8). Why is the path to love such a long road? Why can’t God just give us the love and be done with it?
Peter says we must make every effort to support our faith with goodness, self-control, endurance, and godliness. Through them, we receive God’s promises and escape the corruption that is in the world (2 Peter 1:4). Because we possess these traits as our own, we get to participate in God’s divine nature.
This is the high calling to spiritual growth, and a worthwhile one. The journey to perfected love may last for our entire lives, but God doesn’t leave us trudging along on our own. Hope is our constant friend. As we patiently endure, our character matures. We develop godliness, which creates in us a greater capacity to love.
Hope keeps us looking to the end of our days when we will stand before the Lord and let our lives, our priorities, and our loves speak for us. Hope is the confidence we have in an eternal home waiting for us.
Until we arrive there, hope is also the belief that things will turn out well. We don’t always know how sufferings can work in our favor. Life can sometimes feel hopeless, like we don’t have a good reason to carry on. Everything seems to fall apart, to abandon us, and to ultimately disappoint us.
If we read Romans 5 closely, we notice Paul saying that hope does not disappoint us. Really? So, if this is true, then why do we feel disappointed so much of the time?
I wonder if Paul is suggesting a shift of our affections away from the people or the material goods that should be making us happy, and onto God. If hope doesn’t disappoint and yet we still feel disappointed, then where in our lives are we not looking to him for all that we need?
Love is the ultimate prize, and it is given through the Holy Spirit whom God has already sent to us. Following the Holy Spirit’s leading will shield us from disappointment. This isn’t to say that painful things we must grieve will never happen. Rather, Paul is exhorting us to bounce back. The Holy Spirit is a comforter. God is a redeemer. Christ is our Savior. These persons of the Trinity will help us stand on our own two feet again. And when we do, we will have a greater level of endurance, of patience, of character, of godliness, of love, and of hope.
Hope helps us become different people. We change as we rack up victories. Each one proves to us that God stands behind his word. This assurance colors our sufferings with meaning, moving us to higher levels of power.
Cling to hope as you climb.
Let it anchor you, encourage you, and expand your vision. It won’t disappoint you.
