To try to rid himself of his disappointments, a man decided to auction off his belongings on eBay. He said, “On the day all my possessions are sold, I intend to walk out of my front door with my wallet and passport and nothing else.” He planned to visit his mother before heading to the airport. “I’ll see where life takes me from there. It’s time to shed the old and in with the new!”
All of us can relate to the disappointments of life. The apostle Paul encouraged the believers in Jesus in Rome to remember that Jesus’ death provided them with “peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1). This divine peace empowers all believers to experience “hope [that] will not lead to disappointment” (v. 5). Moreover, it helps us face difficulties without running away from them. “Trials,” he wrote, are designed to develop “endurance . . . strength of character, and . . . hope” within us (vv. 3-4). God’s presence provides a settled confidence that He loves us and will empower us through the Holy Spirit (v. 5). And His love and the Spirit’s presence provide the assurance that our trust in Him isn’t misplaced (v. 8).
As believers in Jesus, rather than running from our disappointments, we can rejoice in them, knowing that God is walking with us through them.
-Marvin Williams
What was your initial response to a recent disappointment? What will help you express your confident hope in God even when facing disappointments?
Dear God, please help me trust in You when I face the hard and disappointing times of life.
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith,
we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place
of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and
joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems
and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
4 And endurance develops strength of character,
and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment.
For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has
given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just
the right time and died for us sinners.
7 Now, most people would not be willing to
die for an upright person, though
someone might perhaps be willing to die for
a person who is especially good.
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending
Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight
by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us
from God’s condemnation.
10 For since our friendship with God was
restored by the death of his Son while
we were still his enemies, we will certainly be
saved through the life of his Son.
11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new
relationship with God because our Lord Jesus
Christ has made us friends of God.
This hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
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