Title: The Thrill and Pain of Hope
Passage: Luke 1:30-33
We tend to think the opposite of hope as despair. Yes there are moments of despair but that’s not normal for most people. What is normal for a lot of people is disappointment. What if disappointment is an emotional signal from our body that our hope was set on the wrong object? What if it was a blessing in disguise?
What if when we feel disillusionment, rather than asking, “Why has God let me down?” we were to ask, “where was I living in an illusion? Where was my hope set on the wrong object?”
What exactly is hope? Here’s a definition for your consideration: Hope is the expectation of coming good based on the person and promises of God.
4 foundations by which to build a biblical hope that will sustain you:
- Jesus will return to make all things new.
- Jesus is with us in our suffering.
- Jesus will use our suffering, to form us into people of love.
- Jesus will bring good from that future world into the mess of this one.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Additional Notes: