And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character and proven character produces hope.  This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.   Romans 5:3-5  HCSB

When used as a noun, hope is described as a feeling or expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen and also as a feeling of trust.  When used as a verb, hope is defined as wanting something to happen or be the case.

Wikipedia describes hope as an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large.  As a verb this site describes hope as “to expect with confidence” or “to cherish a desire with anticipation”.

On Friday evenings in our neighborhood, the ice cream truck comes.  You can hear his cheerful tune coming and my nieces and nephews wait in great anticipation to get their favorite ice cream.  My six year old niece told me that it is the best ice cream ever!  On Fridays she has this great anticipation of the ice cream truck’s arrival.  Now we all know that things could happen that could prevent the ice cream man from making his rounds, right?  HIs truck could break down.  He could get sick.  Perhaps he could have some sort of issue with getting his ice cream restocked.  So far he has been faithful to show up every Friday during the spring, summer and fall months.  My little niece puts her hope in the fact that he will be there on Friday evening to supply her favorite ice cream.

Now as adults, it is my prayer that you share my hope in God.  I know that God is faithful.  I know that if I love Him with my whole heart and obey His commands that He will be my refuge here on earth.  I know that by loving Him and doing what He has called me to do, that He will work all things out for my good (Romans 8:28).  So this gives me great hope.  And of course, I know that the reward that I have waiting for me in heaven is greater than anything I could even imagine here on earth.

Now if you truly believe God’s word, then you believe Romans 8:28.  You believe that even when bad things come your way, that God is working all things out for your good.  This scripture passage for today tells us that we are to rejoice in our afflictions.  When was the last time that you rejoiced when things weren’t going so well?  Have you ever thanked God for a flat tire or a dead battery?  Have you ever thanked God when you have lost something that you desperately needed?  Have you ever thought that maybe God is delaying you to keep you from being involved in a horrible accident?  I have come to believe that when things don’t work out my way, its just because God has something better planned.  I have come to believe this through experience.  I know that God knows best.  I trust in that.

Our scripture passage for today tells us that affliction produces endurance.  When we come to realize that God’s got our back and is working even the bad things out for our good, then it is easier to endure the hard times.  When we endure the hard times with ease and confidence, then it produces a proven character.  It produces a character that people can look at us and say,  “I want what they have”.

This proven character produces hope.  We are enduring because we have come through hard times before and God has proven that He is good and faithful.  We have this hope because we know that God won’t let us down.  Unlike the ice cream truck, God doesn’t break down.  He doesn’t take sick days.  He is always there and He is faithful.  This gives us great hope.

The bottom line is this, I am a very optimistic person.  Not because that is my nature.  There was a time in my life when I expected the worst and prayed for the best.  I have learned that it doesn’t work that way.  Expecting the worst is living without faith.  Living without faith is living without hope.

The pharmaceutical companies are making a fortune on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications.  People are depressed and stressed because they have lost hope.  It’s easy to do in today’s world.  The headlines are all negative, the world is in a terrible mess.  We can never get out of the mess we are in, right?  Wrong.  We have God.  We can turn to Him, we can confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9-10).  When we develop a good, strong relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we can live in the shelter and protection that He provides and we can trust in him to be our fortress and our refuge (Psalm 91:1-2).  We can rest assured that He will never leave nor forsake us and therefore, we have no reason to fear.  We know that the Lord Himself goes with us wherever we go (Deuteronomy 31:6).

This is why I am optimistic.  This is why I have this great hope.  For me to be pessimistic would be to doubt God.  It would be to have no hope.  If we have no hope then what do we have?  Oh yeah, depression and anxiety.

I don’t know about you, but I make a conscious choice to trust in God.  I make a choice to hope in the salvation that He has promised.  I’ve read the end of the book and I know that we win.  I know that God’s got this.

Maybe you are reading this today and saying, “Yeah, well good for you, but I’ve been let down too many times.”  Well let me tell you something,  I too have been let down many times by man.  But I have never been let down by God.  My hope is in God the Father, not a mere, mortal man.

My hope for you today is that you place your hope in God the Father.  I hope that you trust in Him with your whole heart and love Him with all you have.  When you do this, you will not be disappointed.  Who knows?  Maybe even if you are the world’s worst pessimist, God can convert you to an optimistic outlook.  Trust me, I’ve tried both and being optimistic is way more fun!

Have a great day!