Day 5
Hope in God’s Word
May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. [Psalm 119:74]
I remember a time my daughter asked me to play a game with her. I was washing dishes and I told her I would play with her as soon as I finished. She left, set the game up and waited patiently for me to come. When I finished the dishes I moved on to something else forgetting my promise.
Pretty soon I was calling for her to get ready for bed and she came out of her room in tears. “But Mommy, you promised you would play a game with me. I have been waiting for you and you never came.” I felt horrible! Too often we put our hope in another’s word and the result is disappointment.
Psalm 119:74 reads …for I have put my hope in your word.
We can find ourselves wondering: Can I trust God and put my hope in His Word? Will He keep His promises? Sometimes it is hard to put my hope in His word in light of my experience with others. But I can hope in His word because of who God is. He is the Truth [John 14:6] and He cannot lie [Hebrews 6:18].
He is trustworthy!
In his book Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning says, “Hope is the reliance on the promise of Jesus, accompanied by the expectation of fulfillment.” For most of my life I had hoped with expectation in 2 Peter 3:9 as my family and I prayed for my father’s salvation (nearly 50 years for my mom!).
I knew God loved my dad, so I prayed for him daily, never giving up. Just a few hours before my dad’s death, he surrendered his heart to the Lord. What joy! My hope in God’s word was fulfilled even though it required me to wait and be patient. My faith was strengthened through the years by this test of endurance, especially during my dad’s last days. As I trusted in God’s word, my faith in Him increased. Even if I had never witnessed my father’s first steps of faith, my own faith still would have grown over those years as I exercised my “hope muscle.” In this 50-day study, you’ll exercise that hope muscle, too!
Hope in God’s Word. It never fails!
Question to Consider
Do I ever let my past experiences with people who have disappointed me affect my hope in God? How will trusting in God’s Word give me hope for what’s ahead?
Prayer
Lord, thank You for Your true, unfailing Word. Please give me the discipline to learn and memorize it and the faith to trust it.
