Main passage: Romans 5:1–5

Key verse: Romans 5:5
“Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts.”

Hope is a funny little word.

We use it all the time.

I hope the weather holds.

I hope they phone.

I hope this works.

I hope there’s something nice for dinner.

Often what we mean is:

I would quite like this to happen, but I have absolutely no idea whether it will.

Christian hope is something rather different.

It isn’t wishful thinking.

It isn’t crossing our fingers.

It isn’t looking at a difficult situation and insisting that everything will definitely turn out the way we want.

Paul says:

“Hope does not put us to shame.”

There is a confidence in that.

Not necessarily confidence about what will happen next.

Confidence about God.

And perhaps that distinction matters.

Sometimes we attach our hope to a particular outcome.

We hope the answer will be yes.

We hope the test results will be good.

We hope the relationship will mend.

We hope the problem will disappear.

We hope the door will open.

And naturally we do. These things matter enormously.

But what happens to hope when the answer isn’t the one we wanted?

Paul writes about hope in a passage that also talks about suffering.

That’s interesting.

He doesn’t say that following Jesus means we won’t experience hardship.

Instead, somehow, right there within the difficulties of life, something can grow.

Suffering produces perseverance.

Perseverance produces character.

Character produces hope.

I don’t think that means we have to look at every painful thing and say, “Wonderful! Something good will come from this.”

Some things are simply hard.

Some things hurt.

Some things we would never have chosen.

And when someone is hurting, they usually need our compassion more than they need our explanation.

But perhaps Paul is saying that suffering does not automatically get the final word.

Something can grow even here.

That something is hope.

Think about a tiny green shoot appearing through a crack in concrete.

It shouldn’t really be there.

The surroundings hardly look promising.

And yet there it is.

Life.

Maybe hope is sometimes like that.

Not a huge certainty.

Not a triumphant declaration.

Sometimes just a green shoot.

A reason to get up this morning.

A prayer whispered when yesterday’s prayer seemed unanswered.

A phone call made.

A candle lit.

A meal cooked.

Shoes put on.

One more step taken.

Hope doesn’t always shout.

Sometimes hope simply says:

Keep going.

And Paul tells us why.

Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.

There is our foundation.

Our hope does not finally rest upon circumstances becoming easier.

It rests upon the God whose love does not disappear when circumstances become difficult.

That takes us back through everything we’ve thought about this month.

Grace says we don’t have to earn God’s welcome.

Mercy says our failures aren’t the end.

Love says we are held.

Peace says we don’t face uncertainty alone.

And now hope says:

Therefore, keep going.

Maybe today your hope feels strong.

Wonderful.

Carry some for somebody else.

Maybe today it feels rather small.

That’s all right too.

You don’t need enough hope for the next ten years.

You don’t even need enough for next month.

Perhaps you simply need enough for today.

Sometimes faith isn’t a great leap.

Sometimes faith is getting out of bed and saying:

“God, I don’t know what happens next, but I’m going into this day with you.”

That is hope too.

There will always be uncertain things ahead of us.

Things we cannot predict.

Things we cannot control.

But hope asks a different question.

Not:

Do I know what happens next?

But:

Who will be with me when it does?

And that changes everything.

We don’t know everything about tomorrow.

But we know something about God.

God is faithful.

God is loving.

God is present.

So perhaps hope isn’t pretending we can see the whole road.

Perhaps it is simply trusting enough to take the next step.

A Question to Carry

What am I putting my hope in at the moment, an outcome I want, or the God who will be with me whatever happens?

A Simple Practice

Find something green today.

A tree.

A plant.

Grass pushing through concrete.

Pause when you see it and let it remind you:

Hope can grow in unlikely places.

Then name one situation where you need hope.

Prayer

God of hope,

I do not know everything
that lies ahead.

There are things I long for,
things I worry about,
and things I cannot control.

Help me not to confuse hope
with having everything turn out my way.

Root my hope instead
in your goodness,
your presence
and your love.

When hope feels small,
help me take the next step.

And when my hope is strong,
help me carry hope for someone else.

Amen.

For today: Take the next step in hope.