His Encouragement #64
Good morning, and welcome to His Encouragement Thursday! I don’t know about you, but Thursdays are my struggle day of the week. By Thursday, I have already been working hard at school and at home, and I just wish it would hurry up and be Friday already. LOL! I definitely need a little extra Jesus time on Thursdays.
Trisha, my blogger friend at Joy of Reading, and I decided on calling this post “His Encouragement” because our real source of peace, strength, and security can only come from Jesus Christ. He, and He alone, is our constant! We pray and hope that these Thursday posts become a real encouragement to you and help you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you. God bless!
Today’s Thursday Encouragement comes from:
Romans 5:5 (ESV)
Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
I read Romans 5:5 the other day in a Bible study and it struck me. “Hope does not put us to shame.” What a strange thing to say. How could hope put us to shame?
My problem is that hope isn’t really defined here. What does Paul mean by “hope”?
He is talking about having hope in God’s promises to us, specifically the promise about keeping us from God’s wrath (see Romans 5:9). I don’t know about you, but I am very much hoping to be part of Yeshua’s Bride, and I am hoping that day comes sooner rather than later. Today’s mockers and scorners don’t bother me because I have great faith that God’s Word about the Bride is true. Why do I have this assurance? Because of my trials.
Let me back up two verses. In Romans 5:3-4, Paul states, “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”
Trials and tribulations are awful parts to life. They hurt. They frustrate. They confuse. And, they make us feel lonely and scared. BUT, if we go through these trials and tribulations with God, we start to become a little stronger — stronger as people and stronger in faith. When the next trial comes, it still isn’t fun, but we’re a little more confident we can get through it with God by our side. This endurance through trials then becomes the stuff of our character. People start to see us as stronger. Maybe they begin to see us as someone they could turn to in times of trouble. Maybe our example can lead to a conversation about Christ.
By this endurance, and through this character that’s been formed through our trials and tribulations, comes a true sense of hope. If God has seen us through our personal trials and tribulations, and God says He will keep us from His wrath, we can believe even stronger in His promises, and our hope as the future Bride can grow deeper and deeper. It’s not a silly idea. It’s truth!
There is no shame in believing in God’s promises.
Hope in the future God has in store for you. Hope with abandon because our God is the ultimate Promise Keeper!
NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN!
WHAT BIBLICAL VERSE IS ENCOURAGING YOU TODAY?
Check out more Thursday Encouragement from my fellow blogger friends:
Trisha @ Joy of Reading
Jacquelyn @ A Heavenly Home
Jessica @ A Baker’s Perspective
Becca @ The Becca Files
Jenny @ Author Jenny Lynn
Gina @ Stories by Gina
Rebecca @ Rev. Rebecca Writes
If you would like to join us: please contact Trisha or Nicole
