Enduring Hope: Trusting God When the Future Is UncertainSample

Week 2 / Hope in God’s Character

Confidence to Wait

Read: Psalm 31

SOAP: Psalm 31:24

Be strong and confident, all you who wait on the Lᴏʀᴅ.

Into the Text

Hope in God’s character is the foundation on which all other hope is built. To put our hope in God’s character, we need to know and think about His character. We need to remind ourselves of His faithfulness. How has God come through for you? When has He kept His promises to you? How have you seen His power displayed in your life?

Psalm 31 is a wonderful example of what it means to place our hope in God’s character. The psalmist knew the character of God. He was familiar with God’s faithful acts to him personally and to His people. He was confident that God would deliver him again because God had delivered him in the past. The psalmist knew what God was capable of because he knew God’s character. He knew what he could ask God for because he had seen God work in mighty ways in the past and he had seen God respond to his prayers. God had come through for him. He rejoiced in God’s past deliverance and waited with expectation for God to keep His promises.

The psalmist also reminded God of His promises. When we find ourselves struggling to believe God or struggling to trust His goodness and His love, we can recount His promises and His past works to Him. Doing so displays our faith, showing God that we believe Him and trust Him to come through for us. When we’re struggling to trust God, we can cling to any part of His character—like His love or His justice—and find the strength to keep trusting Him.

Hope is the confidence to wait on God when we cannot see the future. When we are surrounded by the enemy, overwhelmed by fear, doubt, or grief, hope gives us the strength to endure. Hoping for God's deliverance reminds us that we have a God who delivers, a God who is good, loving, compassionate, and just. Wait on Him today. He knows the outcome and He is already working for your deliverance.