Where is Hope?

There is a chain of events that brings us to hope. It starts with faith in God. When we have faith we are justified and have peace with God, through Jesus. We glory in tribulations that produce perseverance, which produces character and then hope. Hope is a state of expectance, and we are never disappointed because God pours out His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

This is a paraphrase of Romans 5:1-5. When I pondered these verses the act of perseverance stood out as a key element. And in our fast paced society where everything is expected in an instance, perseverance is a demonstration of plodding through at a steady rate for the long haul. And we can only be successful in persevering with God’s love in our hearts.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, but because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”  Romans 5:1-5  NKJV