Hope Does Not Disappoint

What’s the difference between hope and faith? This is one of deep things of God that is an inexhaustible topic that will be completely revealed on the day when we stand before the Lord Jesus – face to face.

Faith operates in the present working and churning in the heart, wooing and convincing and is based on evidence that God exists. (Hebrews 11:6) Unlike wishful thinking true faith has as its object all that is of genuine worth, He who is the Creator and will live forever.  Completely different from positive mental energy, the one who believes on Jesus Christ prays to the living God who reigns on earth from heaven; hears all, sees all, knows all and will never die.

The prophet Elijah illustrates a great example of well placed faith. He asks the people who had fallen away from God, “How long will you falter between two opinions, follow Him.” The bulls had been prepared and the false prophets leaped, cried and cut themselves but their god didn’t rouse to start the fire; day and night but no answer. Elijah had the altar drenched in water and then called on the name of His God “"LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You [are] God in Israel and I [am] Your servant, and [that] I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You [are] the LORD God, and [that] You have turned their hearts back [to You] again. Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that [was] in the trench. Now when all the people saw [it], they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He [is] God! The LORD, He [is] God!" That’s what the One, True God can do. That’s the heart of a righteous servant praying in earnest to His God every day of his life.  (1 Kings 18:21-39) 

Now what is hope? The Word of God declares, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 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 5:1-5)

The Christian facing cancer can endure the tribulation because we do not have hope in this life but in the life to come. We do not look inward for peace, but upward to the place where Christ dwells. We have “hope in the glory of God” as we look forward to the day Jesus will come again and transform our lowly bodies into heavenly bodies. (Philippians 3:21) We do believe in miracles rejoicing in the greatest miracle in Christ rising from the dead. Though we make ourselves available to good medicine we don’t necessarily depend on it to extend our lives beyond the time appointed by God to “go home.” As the old hymn goes, “our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.

Hope does not disappoint us.

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