Devotion - January 16, 2015 Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5 “I hope we have decent weather for our trip this weekend.” “I hope the wait at the restaurant isn’t too long tonight. I don’t want to miss the movie.” “I hope I get a raise this year.” “I hope the test results come back negative.” There are many things that we hope for in our lives. Sometimes our hopes and dreams are realized. When they aren’t, disappointment, ranging from mild to heart-wrenching, is the result. We have become accustomed to our plans giving way to disappointment in our lives. We are all too familiar with the fact that things don’t always turn out the way that we hope they will. So the gift of hope that does not disappoint us sounds pretty wonderful. That’s exactly the gift that God gives—hope that never disappoints. It’s a hope that is better described with the word certainty. “I hope God still loves me after what I have done.” “I hope God is in control because I sure am not.” “I hope to go to heaven when I die.” These “hopes” will not end in disappointment. There is no uncertainty. They are guaranteed by God’s love. The amazing love that sent his Son to be born into our world, the sacrificial love that sent him to the cross to be punished for all sins—this love guarantees that your hope is certain. You have forgiveness! You have life! You have God’s love! Through the faith that the Holy Spirit has worked in your heart, you know it to be true. In a world that is so filled with disappointment, it is wonderful to know that we have a God who is faithful. It is comforting to know that we have been given the gift of sure and certain hope. Prayer: Gracious Lord, you know all of my hopes and dreams that have resulted in disappointment and heartbreak. Please send your Holy Spirit to comfort my heart and give me joy in the certain hope that comes from you. In Jesus’ name I ask it. Amen. Todays Devotion is brought to you by WELS and WhatAboutJesus. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 12:08:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015