Hoping in the God of Hope (Part 5)
July 31st, 2007
(By Nathan Busenitz)
Last week, we considered several reasons why believers can hope confidently in God. Today we will consider two more.
4. HIS PAST RECORD: We can hope in God because He has always been faithful before.
Another reason we can embrace the hope God offers is because He has never broken a promise. His track record is perfect. He has always kept His Word in the past, just as He will continue to do so in the future. The biblical record is clear: God is impeccably faithful.
For example, in Psalm 100:5, the writer says, “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Earlier in Psalms, Asaph overcomes his despair by remembering “the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago” (Psalm 77:11). And 1 Chronicles 16:15 notes that God “remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations.” Ethan, in discussing God’s promises to David, announces, “I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations” (Psalm 89:1). And Psalm 119:90, speaking to God, echoes: “Your faithfulness continues through all generations.”
God’s faithfulness is not just an abstract part of who He is. Rather, it is an attribute that has been proven throughout history time and time again. As Christians, by remembering God’s provision and protection in the past, we can hope expectantly in Him for the present and the future. Even in the midst of trials and suffering, we can be confident that He who was faithful before is still “faithful in all he does” (Psalm 33:4).
5. HIS PARENTAL CARE: We can hope in God because He loves us.
A final reason to hope in God is found in the love He has for His children. In the Old Testament, God demonstrated His love to Israel again and again (Deuteronomy 23:5; Exodus 34:6–7). Over twenty-five times, in Psalms alone, is God’s love called “unfailing” (Psalms 6:4, 21:7, and 90:14, to name a few). We can both “trust in” (Psalm 13:5) and “be glad and rejoice in” (Psalm 31:7) the love of God. Solomon, in 2 Chronicles 6:14, refers to God’s promises as covenants of love (see also Nehemiah 1:5). Even Jeremiah, after Jerusalem’s destruction, finds comfort in “his unfailing love” (Lamentations 3:32).
God’s great love for His children is found in the New Testament as well. After all, it was on account of His love for the world that God gave His Son in the first place (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4; Titus 3:4; 1 John 4:19). Christ’s death was the ultimate proof: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It was out of His love that He predestined us to salvation (Ephesians 1:4–5; 1 Thessalonians 4:9). Even in disciplining us, it is God’s love, not His wrath, that motivates His hand (Hebrews 12:6).
Regarding hope, 1 Corinthians 13:8 clearly states that “love never fails.” If God who is love (1 John 4:8) loves us (1 John 4:10) then we can be confident that He will never let us down (Romans 8:38–39). With Paul we can confidently assert that, “hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:5). We can cling to God’s promises because He guarantees them as a loving Father.