Are you in need hope right now? Maybe your trial is prolonged and you feel like falling into despair and discouragement. Some look for a "ray of hope" because then there is a strength to not give up.
Hope looms large on the horizon of any trouble.
Hope will give you strength in your trial.
Paul describes it this way —
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
Romans 5:3-5 NLT
In these words from the Lord we learn that His kind of hope will completely satisfy and never disappoint. The ground of this hope is the assurance of our salvation and the knowledge of the love of God. No one can take away our salvation or the love that God has for us. Not only that, our hope is experienced even now as the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the magnificent and deep love of God.
In Paul's words we see the positive side of any trial. As Elisabeth Elliot put it so many years ago — suffering is not for nothing. I have been pondering these words of Paul following my mother's stroke several weeks ago. I am focusing by faith on the fact that though we may feel weak in trials, we are actually stronger than we feel. We are growing in endurance, character, and a deeper experience of God Himself. This is a by faith experience as we may, in fact, be broken in heart and crushed in spirit.
So dear friend, whatever valley you may be in right now, take heart and find strength in the hope of your salvation — you have eternal life with the Lord — and in the hope of how dearly God loves you.
Dear Lord, thank You for the hope I have in You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Blessings ♡ Grace
