Hope That Never Fails

The last few weeks have been pretty lousy.  

The world around us seems to be going to hell in a hand basket.  

My mom died.  

A pipe broke under our house, which will cost a zillion dollars to fix. 

Our car is in need of repair.  

My oldest son's college tuition is due.  

Our dog had a freak accident and dislocated his knee cap and needs surgery.  

And on top of everything else that has been happening in my life--I caught a nasty cold.  

I should not have been surprised at this considering the fact that my two youngest kids were deathly ill last week, but I thought I'd escaped unscathed.  

Someone told me yesterday, "That sounds like a bad country song." I couldn't agree more. 

Last week, during the class I am teaching on the book of Romans, I read out loud the following verse: 

 "...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."

I love the fact that the last thing in Paul's list after "character" is "hope."  

You would think that he would say that "character produces success," or "victory," or something like that.  But it goes right to hope--the kind of hope that "does not put us to shame."  

In other words, when you put your faith in God, you can hold on to hope no matter what is going on in your life, and that hope will not let you down.  

May you hold on to hope today and every day even when you are suffering and struggling to persevere.  May you be confident that the hope you have from the love of God that has been poured into your heart will never fail you.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.