"Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans, chapter 5, verses 2-5, the bold font is ours)
You might be reading this verse and silently thinking to yourself: "Well, I hoped and was disappointed." If you're not thinking this, then perhaps there hasn't been a moment in your life yet when you received from God exactly what you had not expected. This is one of the most challenging yet most formative experiences we can have. What does hope, which does not disappoint, have to do with suffering, and then further down, with the love of God? Sometimes the world seems too small to contain these three concepts at once — suffering, hope, love.
According to James Strong's dictionary, the Greek word for suffering in the passage refers to internal suffering, not something caused externally. A person's inner world is something only they and God know well. We cannot always explain our pain and emotions to another person. Since we cannot explain, we often remain alone in our pain. Lack of understanding from others makes us silent and keeps everything to ourselves. However, this is the moment to remember that besides us, there is Someone else who fully understands us. In fact, even we do not understand ourselves that well. Jesus does not leave us alone in suffering because it would break us. If we are still breathing and fighting, it is because He bears the weight and gives grace. Grace is not just a feeling of lightness but the ability to endure, to persevere without breaking. Patience and successfully enduring the test lead to character. The word for character here in Greek is "something that has been tested, has proven itself successfully." Hope is born from the endured test.
We have all heard the expression "vain hopes" when someone's expectations are not met. How do we explain the fact that we, as God's children, have had some expectations from God that were not fulfilled? There are two answers, with only one being true: either God disappoints, or our hope was not in Him. Of course, God does not disappoint. So if our hope was not in God, it was in something we modeled and adapted to our own desires and called it god. Hope must have a true Source.
The passage and indeed the entire fifth chapter of Romans speak of God's love and salvation, which God gifts to humanity while it is still dead in its sins. Freely, not by merit, just by faith, God the Father offers redemption to anyone who reaches out to Him. He gives it to us for free because He has already paid dearly instead of us with the life of His son, Lord Jesus Christ. Here is Love — proven once and for all, sealed with blood. Hope is motivated by a specific reason, namely: Since Jesus died for you when you didn't even know you needed Him, how much more now, when you know His love, do you have a reason for hope. Hope that will not disappoint you and will not go unrealized.
Challenge for the week: Make a personal list of "unrealized hopes." Pray throughout the week with your list, presenting each of these disappointments before God along with the pain that comes from it. Be expectant of God's healing and watch for circumstances that lead to receiving answers.
*Bible quotes are according to the text of the Bible, new translation from original languages ©Bulgarian Bible Society 2013.
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