"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
Romans 5:5
True hope enables us to sustain our faith until God's promises are fulfilled. "...we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end" (Hebrews 3:6). Hold on! Even if you feel heaven has fallen, wait to see the fulfillment of God's promises. Remember Abraham. God promised him many descendants; he was childless and almost 100 years old! But he held on to God's promises. Have you ever faced a crushing experience and had to grasp on to God's promises?
A couple of years ago I went to the ophthalmologist for an eye exam. The doctor was direct. He bluntly declared, "You are going blind. In the next couple of years, you will lose your eyesight and there is nothing that can reverse it." A shock went through my whole body. I was in disbelief. I declared, "No, I will not lose my eyesight," then I immediately began praying to God, "Please take these thoughts out of mind and wipe them completely from my heart." When I got home, I had a serious talk with God about the desires of my heart, all the work I planned to do for Him and His people, and why I needed my sight to do them. I had to cling to His promises.
The Scriptures proclaim: "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13). We worship a God of hope. Our hope is in Christ and the Holy Spirit is the one who brings forth that hope. Hope is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. The God I trust takes me through whatever I face. That is what His promises are for: they give us hope. "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19) — including hope for every situation we encounter.
One day after that eye exam, I stepped through the front gate of my house and as it slammed shut I realized I had no keys to get back inside. I was about to react, but the Holy Spirit spoke to me, saying, "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Those words immediately composed me. I turned around and as I looked to the sky, there was the sun in my face, so bright I could not move my eyes away from it. My eyes began to run water as if being washed by the heat. I sat on the stairs staring straight into the sunlight for 30 or 40 minutes. All I could say was, "Thank you, God, thank you, thank you, God." Without a doubt it was the work of God. God was healing my eyes. When I went to the eye doctor for my next exam, I explained what the other doctor had said a year before. He gave me a thorough examination and informed me, "I don't know where that doctor got his results, but I see nothing. Your eyes are fine."
Call to Action
"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God" (Psalm 43:5). Choose to hope in God today for all that you are facing.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
