I hope for all kinds of things. I hope my decorating attempts don’t look weird. I hope my raspberry bushes flourish this year. I hope my son scores a goal in his soccer game. I hope my children will follow Jesus. I hope my husband feels respected. I hope the church will stand with Christ. I hope life looks a little more normal in the months to come.
And I could go on.
We all hope for things. Sometimes hope takes the form of wishful thinking. Other times we use hope like an anchor to get us through hard times—hope is a good thing. Those who have no hope feel lost. The problem is that as sinful beings, we tend to set our hope in the wrong place, and then disappointment follows.
Instead of anchoring our hope in God, we attach our hope to situations, people, or things and assume they will satisfy us. We see this falsely-anchored hope as the only way, so we beg God for it. We try with all our might to think the perceived hope into existence. And when it doesn’t happen or or when it happens yet fails to satisfy us, we get down and out.
Failed Hope Leads to Unmet Expectations
An unmet expectation is the inability of something or someone we put our hope in to satisfy us in the way we expected. That doesn’t necessarily mean that something or someone failed us, but that we placed too much stock in that hope.
So we hope it doesn’t rain on our outdoor plans. We hope our kids will behave better. We hope our marriage will improve. We hope for a spouse. We hope for a raise. We hope the new diet we’re trying will work.
God created us to hope, but marriage, family, money, beautiful sunny days, or even skinny bodies will not satisfy us because they’re not meant to satisfy us. If our hope is in anything earthbound, including God’s blessings, then disappointment is inevitable. But if our hope is in God, then our hope is in the One person able to fully satisfy us.
Moses prayed in Psalm 90:14, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” God’s love is the only trustworthy source of contentment, and His love does not disappoint.
God-Centered Hope Never Fails
According to Scripture, we aren’t supposed to hope in the things we can see, but in the things we can’t see (2 Cor. 4:18). I understand that hoping in the unseen seems easier said than done. But the things we presently see will fail us, while the heavenly things we can’t see never will. “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2. Cor. 4:18).
The word transient means temporal. The things that we can touch and grab hold of are not permanent. They are fleeting—here today and gone tomorrow. But God is eternal. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8); nothing about God is fleeting. Therefore, our hope in Christ is secure.
God’s Word is eternal. God’s reign and kingdom are eternal. God’s abundant love is eternal. Giving credence to the gospel of Jesus Christ as the most solid foundation there is. To place our hope in the assurance of God’s promises is like stepping into wet concrete with both feet and not moving for three days.
Only God has the power to make and keep such vast and comprehensive promises, granting Him the well-deserved title, God of hope (Rom. 15:13). We can hope in God because He is faithful to fulfill every promise to us through faith in Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:23).
David’s Hope Rested in God
There are times when it’s impossible to see how God will fulfill His promises through our messes. But He will, and He does, and that is the believer’s unwavering hope.
David is an excellent example of someone who repeatedly put his hope in God even in heavy trials. David sang in Psalm 39:7, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.”
David waited for all kinds of things. He waited for God to make him king. He waited for God to give him a home. He waited for God to bring justice to his enemies. He waited for God to vindicate his reputation. He waited for God to provide answers, and yet, he worshiped during the wait.
Ultimately, David didn’t put his hope in any of the things he waited for. His hope rested in God. We can hope God will do certain things in specific ways, but our hope can’t reside in outcomes. Our hope must rest in God.
God-Centered Hope Never Disappoints
If you feel like you’re constantly swimming through disappointments and drowning in unmet expectations, then may I suggest, dear sister (as a fellow swimmer myself), that you might be anchoring your hope in the wrong place. Hope that does not disappoint is hope that centers on the Blesser, not the blessings.
Our hope is set on broken things when we fix our eyes on earthbound things. And broken things never satisfy. Yet the Scriptures were written that we might have hope (Rom. 15:4)—joy-filled, confident, abundant, absolute hope. A hope that is beyond our wildest expectations.
It’s perfectly fine to hope for a different kind of world because this one is clearly broken. God’s kingdom, however, is not broken. Even when we can’t see it, Heaven rules, and Christ reigns, so we put our hope in God.
When our hope is in the right place—sealed in the assurance of a loving and faithful God—we will not be disappointed. It’s when we set our hopes on anything less than God that we find ourselves defeated. We can hope for things, but we can’t secure our hope in those things; our only hope is God.
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)
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