May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope Romans 15:13
And hope does not disappoint us (NIV, or “shame us” ESV), because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. Hebrews 6:19-20
Gracious Father, I begin this day while the dew of heaven is fresh—the dew of hope. I’d love a downpour of hope, but as long hope comes from you, a dew-size portion is enough. It’s not that disappointing and painful events of recent days have changed significantly. It’s that you haven’t changed and you never will change. You are the God of hope, not just the giver of hope, and the hope you give will never disappoint us or shame us.
Hope will not disappoint us because you will not disappoint us. You will certainly humble us, but you will not let us down or fail us. You don’t promise to work on our timeline or as we would script things, and you certainly don’t promise to give us an un-do or a re-do. But you do promise us that we will not be disappointed in how you choose to work in all things for your glory and the good of your people. We believe, help our unbelief. Give us patient hope.
Hope will not shame us because you will not shame us. Jesus has born the full weight and freight of our sin. We don’t have guileless hearts before one another yet, but we do have guiltless hearts before you, and that’s what matters the most. You now pour the love we don’t deserve into our hearts because you poured the judgment we do deserve onto Jesus.
We don’t have to hold back or hold out on anything. Whatever you bring to light in our lives is for our healing, not our harming; for our freedom, not our flogging; for our sanctification, not our humiliation. We believe, help our unbelief. Give us courageous hope.
How we praise you that the hope you give us is an anchor for our souls, firmly securing us when we find ourselves on threatening seas or in shifting tides. Indeed, we are anchored to a throne of grace; not to the injustice of circumstances; not to the whims and whisperings of men, not to the sins of our past or the uncertainty of our future. We believe, help our unbelief. Grant us bold hope. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ tender and trustworthy name.