A Hope That Will Never Leave Us Ashamed
We run on hope. We hope the store will be open by the time we get there. We hope the car won’t run out of gas even though it’s close to empty. We hope the Avalanche or Nuggets or ___________________ (insert your favorite team) win. We hope interest rates come down.
We may not always want to be too enthusiastic about our hopes and dreams, because they may not come true. They may let us down.
In some circles, following Christ means you really . . . . shouldn’t talk about the negative experiences of life. I’ve read about churches in which you don’t mention sicknesses, because it might mean revealing a weakness in your faith, or even bringing the sicknesses into existence because of the words you spoke. As if anything bad puts into question or diminishes our hope in the Lord and his blessing.
That’s not the Bible’s teaching. We don’t have to be “Debbie Downers,” but we understand the reality that we are not in paradise yet. This world does involve suffering. We don’t have to pretend it doesn’t.
The Apostle Paul in the fifth chapter of Romans takes it further. We not only recognize suffering, but also find a way to glory in it. … we also glory in our sufferings (Romans 5:3). The trials we have don’t diminish God or his care for us. They just happen. And when they do, God brings out in us perseverance, character and hope through them. We all could benefit from more perseverance, character and hope!
Don’t ever consider your sufferings – no matter how big or small – as something to be ashamed of. God is at work there. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Other hopes may let us down. Hope in the love of Christ who died for sinners is not one of them!