A Note from DT
Romans 5:3-5 (tpt) …Even in times of trouble we have a joyful confidence, knowing that our pressures will develop in us patient endurance. 4 And patient endurance will refine our character, and proven character leads us back to hope. 5 And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!
I was talking with a friend recently who was navigating some pressure in life and things felt a bit heavy. As we were talking I began to feel the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and started to speak hopeful encouragement into the situation. I was reminded of James 5:3 which says that we ‘glory in tribulations’. As crazy as it sounds I began to think that this attitude of thanksgiving in the midst of pressure is actually a process of Reverse Engineering Hope. The word hope in the Bible is not just well-wishing, it is actually a foundational aspect of faith which actually puts us in an active posture of expecting the goodness of God to manifest. The language in Hebrews 11:1 describes this partnership of faith and hope as something that gives Gods goodness a place to land in our lives. When our Hope is in the goodness of God, and His ability to cause all things to work for our good we can be thankful even in the midst of what feels like a trial. In this way, hope is not something we have, it is something we do. Hope is like a suspicion that always thinks God is up to something good no matter what things seem to look like In the natural. When we maintain this posture of hope towards God’s goodness it’s actually an act of faith which ushers in that which we are hoping for. True biblical hope is not a fantasy or some sort of new-age practice of well-wishing, it is actually rooted in the love of God and this expectation calls those things that are not as though they are…and so they are. When we choose to be thankful for what God is doing behind the scenes, trusting in His goodness even when we haven’t yet seen Him come through we are actually reverse engineering hope and this is the power of our faith. The strategy of heaven comes to those whose hopeful expectation is set in the goodness of God…this is the place where vision comes from…get your hopes up!
-DT
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