Romans 5:2-5. “2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
There are two kinds of hope: hoping FOR (something that we deeply desire and may have even been promised from God) and hoping IN (the faithful character and goodness of God). Both are good things, but they MUST be ordered correctly, or “hope deferred will make the heart sick” (Prov 13:12). The hope that is talked about in Romans 5 (above) is hoping IN. As verse 5 says, “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” because of “this grace in which we stand.” What do I rejoice in? The glory of God. Not my circumstances or the relative progress I am making toward my goals and dreams. This “hoping IN” kind of hope will never put me to shame (v 5) because God’s love is poured into my heart through the Holy Spirit. This “IN” kind of hope is never deferred because it is only dependent on something I already have and can never lose: the Holy Spirit and the love of God.
Verses 2 and 5 are a beautiful picture of hoping IN, but what about the in-between? What happens when my hoping FOR is deferred for who knows how long? Suffering. Verses 3 and 4. Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Or more accurately, a greater hope. A stronger hope. A tested and refined hope. And when I know the process I’m walking through will end in a greater and stronger hope that will never put me to shame or disappoint, I can rejoice even in the midst of the suffering.
At the beginning, before the suffering, I rejoiced in hope of the glory of God. I hoped IN God, but I was hoping FOR as well. I was hoping that the glory of God would manifest in my situation the way I wanted it to. However, many times that simply doesn’t happen. My hope FOR is deferred, and my heart becomes sick, heavy with disappointment and confusion. When this happens – when the hope FOR becomes the primary hope that I am anchoring myself to – my hope IN suddenly becomes clouded with doubts, darkness, and distraction. How can God be good if He isn’t delivering me from this trial? How can He be faithful if He isn’t coming through on what He promised? How can He be just if He isn’t righting this wrong? These kinds of thoughts are natural and human. But they are also the result of mis-ordered hope. I give these devastating, unanswerable questions permission to plague me when my hope IN is dependent upon my hope FOR.
But what happens when I flip the script? When my hope FOR is completely dependent on my hope IN? What happens when I stare my unattainable dream or unbearable situation in the face and shout with everything inside me, “I REJOICE IN HOPE OF THE GLORY OF GOD!!!!!” No matter what it looks like. No matter how long my life continues to suck. No matter how long I have to wait. No matter if what I’m hoping FOR ever comes. Ouch. But something much more profound happens when I choose to hope IN God in the midst of the suffering. Even when my circumstances don’t change, I do.
Suffering produces endurance. I learn to stay faithful because my Father is faithful.
Endurance produces character. As I focus on God’s faithfulness, trusting Him enables me to find peace and true rest.
Character produces hope. Not hope FOR, but hope IN. A hope that will not put me to shame because God’s love is filling my heart and the Holy Spirit is renewing my mind from the inside out.
Do you want to know a secret? You’ll never run out of things to hope FOR. As soon as you attain the one you are longing for now, another one will pop up in its place. You will never, ever be satisfied on this side of heaven (but that’s a story for another time
).
Don’t hear me wrong – contending is good. Intercession is good. Hoping FOR is good. Jesus told us to “always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1) My only heartfelt plea is simply that you don’t get your hope FOR and your hope IN confused. Because honestly? That’s idolatry. And practically, you’re going to run out of steam really quickly if the only fuel for your prayer is the thing you don’t have. But if your prayer fuel is the sufficiency and goodness of the God who sent His only son to rescue you from darkness and bring you into his family, it will never run dry. That is the beauty and power of every hope being rooted in Him.
So what does this look like? How can I actually refocus on God when what I’m hoping FOR is so painfully non-existent, and I’m questioning everything I’ve believed about Him? Here are three things that have become invaluable for me when I have reached the end of my patience and the end of my strength:
- Remember. Remember every single thing that I have seen my Father do for me. Remember every time He’s come through for me. WRITE IT DOWN. Seeing the pages fill up with His goodness and faithfulness will be an encouragement in both the short term and the long term. These pages will be a memorial and a testimony to both you and the people you will share it with in the future.
- Confess. Come to God with your hurt, your pain, your confusion. Come to him with your anger, your disappointment. Tell Him you don’t understand and you don’t really trust Him. But stay in the fight. Find him in the wrestling. Don’t let it separate you from Him by holding it inside, hiding from the pain, or running away to a temporary comfort that can never satisfy.
- Listen. Once you’ve released all of your frustration and pain, ask Jesus what He has to say about it. Ask Him to show you where He is in the waiting and the struggle. Ask Him to show you a glimpse of how he’s going to work it out for good. And then be willing to wait for an answer. It may look like a picture in your mind. It may sound like a word or phrase in your head. Maybe a piece of a Scripture or a verse reference. It might be as simple as a shifting in your heart. But he wants nothing more than to answer you (Isa 65:24), and He IS our only hope.
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.
~ Psalm 62:5 ~
La Aventura de la Vida 
Hoping for the waters to recede quickly and people to be able to recover from the horrible devastation and losses of ETA. Putting all of my hope in Jesus, the only one who can make a miracle out of this mess!!! Carlos’s older sister (those he grew up with in the orphanage) lost everything she had in a matter of minutes! His heart is broken as are the hearts of so many that don’t even know the whereabouts of their family members. Everyone is affected in some way or another!! Thank you for your prayers. Much love, me
Wow. There has been a lot to hope for these recent weeks, and it’s so easy to get focused on the legitimate, pressing need, but all that’s left down that road is discouragement. Will keep praying with you for protection and restoration by the only God worthy of putting our hope in.