And 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" (Romans 5:5 NIV).

When we hope--holding onto the faith we have in God--we should never be ashamed of those things in which we hope. Why? Because the love of God, which has been poured into our hearts to overflowing, through the Holy Spirit--would never lead us to hope for things that are not part of God's plan for us. With the exception of God's love--our hope to receive what we have asked of God is conditional--"if" we do what He has told us to do (obey Him), then we hope with great anticipation, knowing we will receive.

When children (in the natural) obey parents they can hope to receive what they ask of their parents--privileges, gifts, money, etc.

When students study (and oh how I wish I had many of those), they can hope, with assurance of getting good grades in school--at any level.

When an employee has performed exceptionally well on his or her job, they can hope for a raise or promotion with the expectation of receiving one because they have performed well.

When we have received God's love and know how to share it, we can hope that others will be drawn to Jesus because of the love.

When we have been obedient to God and live a life that glorifies Him, we can expect to receive our rewards of heaven--in heaven--and all that God has planned for us--on earth.

If we are ashamed of those things for which we hope; perhaps we should examine our motives. If we allow the enemy to belittle us and make our hope of no avail, perhaps we need to examine our relationship with God.

We do have hope--in the love of God and by direction of the Holy Spirit--that we will receive all that God has promised because we do what we are supposed to do and because He is love and not a man that He should lie--we will receive--if we don't get weary of doing the right things. Our hope should never fade as long as we know the love of God abides within our hearts.  And that hope--never leads to our being ashamed.

Lord Jesus, help us to never be ashamed of our hope in You and to move forward in life, always doing those things You would have us to do.