We can choose how we handle our deferred hope. And it doesn’t put us to shame because God’s love has (already – the action is complete) been poured into our hearts.
Why? Because in the end they produce hope – hope that does not put us to shame. For us, perhaps, it is hope for recovery from illness, relief from a difficult boss, or the gift of a longed-for child… We hope that our sufferings will end, yet at the same time, Paul says, we glory in them. For Paul that might have been hope of release from prison, vindication in court, or reprieve from his ‘thorn in the flesh’.
I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that whatever we are suffering comes with an equal and opposite hope. We also need to look at the context of the Romans verse. For example, when Proverbs 18:8 says ‘The words of a gossip are like choice morsels they go down to the inmost parts’, it doesn’t mean we ought to spread around those juicy titbits. It’s important to remember that Proverbs is a list of sayings and truisms – it speaks about the way the world is, not necessarily the way it ought to be. Romans 5:5, however, assures us that hope does not put us to shame (or, as it was expressed in earlier translations, ‘does not disappoint’), even though it’s clear in much of Scripture (and Hebrews 11 in particular), that many godly people die before they receive the fulfilment of the promises they’ve been hoping for. The only promise it seems to offer is that I’ll be fine when God finally gives me what I’m asking for. I’ve often thought that Proverbs 13:12 is one of the most discouraging verses in the Bible. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.Īnd we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance perseverance, character and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Each study includes a short reflection for personal use or discussion with others. Originally written for Lent 2017, it covers everything from giving God a helping hand to the hope of salvation.
#HOPE DEFERRED MAKES THE HEART SICK SERIES#
This is part one of our six-part study series on Hope Deferred.
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