Hope That Does Not Disappoint

Hope Does Not Put Us to Shame

Paul writes that hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The hope is grounded in something received, not in something wished for.

This matters because wishes can disappoint. Expectations can go unmet. But the hope that rests on God's character has a different foundation.

Cultivating Real Hope

False hope says: things will work out the way I want. Real hope says: God is faithful, and I am held by him whatever happens.

If hope is hard for you right now — if the disappointments have accumulated to the point where hoping feels risky — begin small. Not with hope for the large resolution. With the smaller hope: that today, in this moment, God is present.