The Established Path of Discipleship

It is elusive for some—always out of grasp. It is like the cat chasing and pawing at the toy mouse on the end of the string. When the cat thinks she has the toy mouse in her grasp, the giggling cat owner pulls on the string. I am talking about hope. Sometimes, when we think we have our hands on it, it is pulled from our grasp.

The good news is that God does not put hope on an ever-moving string we must chase. He is not playing with us. We are not his pets. We are his children. Paul reminds us of a path to hope: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Hope comes from endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures.

Many of us struggle with the idea of endurance. The thought of enduring a prolonged sickness, chronic pain, difficult relationships, conflict at work, and a whole host of other joy leeches can be overwhelming. But Paul, in his letter to the Romans, reminds us that endurance is not just about bearing the burden but about experiencing hope through the process. He writes, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Rom. 5:3). This endurance, this character, is what leads to hope. By the means of our faith, we were given access to the grace of God (Rom. 5: 2). We stand in this grace, knowing that somehow, someway God’s enabling grace is giving us what we need to endure. In Romans 15:5, Paul prays, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another.” God is the source of endurance and encouragement.

The Scriptures Paul referred to in Romans 15:4 is the Old Testament. Paul used the Old Testament to preach Christ, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). The hope of glory, Christ dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us—a hope that never leaves us. How can we access the Scripture as a source of encouragement? Jeremiah gives us the answer in Lamentations 3:21-24:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

We must “call to mind” the word of God. The Bible speaks about what is true about God and what is true about us. In every way we can, we must remember that God never ceases to love us, his mercy never runs out, he is always faithful, and most importantly, God is our portion. This phrase, ‘God is our portion, ‘means we have everything we need because we have God. Christ in us, the hope of glory, is our portion. Therefore, we will hope in him.

The assault on our hope will never cease in this world. You can endure the attacks through the enabling grace of God. Stand in it! Encourage yourself through the living and active word of God. God’s voice is more powerful than the clamoring fearmongers of this world. They have no reason to hope, but you do, for the hope of glory lives in you.