14 Days to PeaceSample

Though many of us have suffered great disappointments in this season, hope in Christ trumps all disappointment. 

That’s what Paul writes in Romans 5:5: “And hope does not disappoint….” (NIV)

If hope is nothing more than wishful thinking, then disappointment and shame will lie close at hand. To hope that you’ve won the lottery, only to find out that you didn’t win a dime is a disappointment for sure. 

But, Paul says, the hope of God never disappoints or puts to shame because it is rooted in the finished work of Christ. When the Holy Spirit bears witness to your heart that you are a child of God, the hope that emerges is permanent and irrevocable. The Christian’s hope isn’t rooted in circumstances but in permanent belonging. 

Years ago, a matriarch in our church died and her granddaughter shared some unforgettable words at the memorial service: 

“When I was a little girl, while other children were going to Disneyworld, I was going to Grandma’s house. We would pack up the car in Tampa, wave to Mickey Mouse on the way past Orlando, and head north. And I thought I was the luckiest kid in the world. [My grandmother’s house] was the most comforting, interesting, exciting place to be on earth. The lightning bugs were brighter there at night; the breeze cooler from the front porch swing; the cantaloupe sweeter in the refrigerator. Someone else now lives at 921 West Street and I, along with all my cousins, only have memories of the house where Grandma lived, but that is okay. It is just fine. Because … as I sit with my son on my lap, and seek to instruct and shepherd his heart, using the same phrases as my Grandmother, I know that the home my Grandmother built will live on through the legacy of her life and her influence.”

Driving past Disneyworld is no disappointment to a girl who has known the richness of a grandmother’s love. Shame can’t find root in a girl like this, because her grandmother’s love trumps Space Mountain! When the enemy of your soul taunts and shames: “Look at you, your life hasn’t turned out like you want. Think of all your disappointments in this world,”  hope in Christ replies: “I have a better home than this world!”

Hope in Christ always trumps disappointment. And that’s the Gospel!

Questions for Reflection:

1) Has wishful thinking ever disappointed you? How? Why?

2) Our hope is rooted in permanent belonging, not just circumstances. Right down all the truths you have to hope in. (i.e. eternity with Christ, God’s faithfulness, etc.)

3) How would your life change if you started hoping in your eternal status?