The Hope That Does Not Disappoint

And, today I’m feeling it extra. A lot extra, honestly. But today, honestly, I want to focus on where I run when these feelings take hold… where I rest when the world is breaking open, leaving my heart to break wide apart. Because, the reality is… this life is not all there is.

This situation. That illness. Those heartbreaks. This Nation. The Whole Wide Breaking-Apart World. As bad as they all can appear.

No, this is not even close to all. There is MORE. And it is so much more and it’s so much more worth our attention. And, that MORE is where I run to because there I can finally rest in a Hope that will never disappoint or leave me broken-hearted or hurting or still only aching for even more. And, if the hope you run to leaves you feeling this way, then maybe you have placed your hope in the wrong thing.

The created thing. The material that rust-spoil-and-fade things. The man-made that can be flawed, because man-is-but-a-breath kind of thing. Because, there is something better than any of these things.

A Someone better than the best of these and seated above all the rest of these.

He is a living Hope, Imperishable, and kept in Heaven. A true Hope that gives you a new birth into a new life. A Hope that is filled with the glory of God. A Hope that can not only carry you and all your broken, but save you out of this breaking-apart world.

So, if you’re still simply hoping… may we gaze a little more upon The Hope that does not disappoint? This Hope is the “MORE” I run to and rest in, because He is from The Beginning. This Hope was present at the creation of the world and the creation of man in His very image. This Hope chose a nation to adore and glorify him, but when they kept failing and breaking, He also chose to become like them in order to sacrifice Himself for them. This Hope then opened the way for the whole world to become one with Him, His Father, and His Spirit.

This Hope is a living One… the point of all our living.

And, I have found His promises to be true.

Promises like… In Him, I have a Father in Heaven who only sees His perfect reflection when He gazes upon me and not the broken mess I struggle not to be. Like, His promise of a Comforter and Counselor who lives inside me, guiding me along the path created just for me before I ever was. Like, His promise to intercede on my behalf when I fail and feel the cut of accusations or my own shattered promises. Like, His forgiveness that floods my soul the minute I repent and seek Him when my broken promises have broken our relationship. Like, His promise to remove all shame and cleanse me from all unrighteousness when I am crushed under the weight of my own guilt. Like, His promise to cover me under the shadow of His wings when all I want to do is run for cover and hide from fear. Like, His promise to always answer when I call to Him and strengthen me when I wait on Him. Like, His promise to not only meet me where I am, but to never leave me there and instead continue to grow me to become more like His image. Like, His promise to take me as I am because it is His job to mold me into who He created me to be. Like, His promise that my weakness is His Strength and His love, faithfulness, mercy, and grace will never leave me nor forsake me, but will actually hold me together when I am falling apart. And, like His promise to work all things out for my good because I belong to Him – whether I can see it or not.

This. This is Jesus and He is MORE and He – ALONE – is our Hope.

And He is why I run to The One who Was, Is, and Is to Come. The Great I AM. And, this Hope, can be YOUR Hope. And, oh… how I pray it is! I pray you would look upon this truth. Test it. Wrestle it out… call to this Hope and He will answer you and show you wonderful things you have not known. Your life matters because of Him. Because you mattered enough to Him that He came and laid His own life down for you. He knows you are broken because He carried your broken upon himself, and then was broken and spilled out for you.

And because he overcame the broken for you, you no longer need to run from it.

Instead of breaking apart, break right into His arms so you can finally rest in a Hope that never disappoints 

Oh, My Fellow Story Teller, may “… the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the HOPE to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19)

If you want to dig a little deeper:

Psalm 91; Isaiah 1:18, 40, 53; Jeremiah 33:3; John 14:26; Romans 3:22, 5:2-8, 8:28-29, 34; 1 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:17; Ephesians 1:4, 2:10; Philippians 1:6; Colossians 1:15-18, 2:10, 3:1-3; Hebrews 13:5; 1 Peter 1:3-6; 1 John 1:9, 2:1-6; Revelation 22:17