Romans 5:3-5 - “3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience, and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Family, troubles in this life are guaranteed and that is regardless of what side of the faith in Jesus Christ line you stand on.
It is written that “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Job 14:1
This is what makes hope so vital to the believer. Why? Because there are two types of hope:
Worldly hope, which Is the desire of something to come to pass, a feeling of expectation for a certain thing to happen.
Godly hope, which is quite different…. Godly hope is not based on feelings, as a matter of fact Godly hope is not based on sight or circumstances past or current. Godly hope is solely and completely based on…..God.
Romans 5:5 starts by stating that “hope maketh not ashamed…” simply because all hope and all the promises of God are based on the truth of who God is. Among many other qualities, God's nature, God’s essence, his very being is truth. Which is why it is written,
“God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” John 4:24.
It is why it is also written, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
This means that to approach God, to have expectations of him or to establish a relationship with him, that process must begin in truth. That is why the relationship must begin with the greatest truth there is to be believed and confessed and that is that Jesus is the son of God, that he is God in the flesh, who came to earth as a man, was crucified, buried and rose again. It is why we must confess we are sinners in need of a savior to wash those sins away because we have to come to God in truth.
This nature of truth that is God is what distinguishes worldly hope from Godly hope because worldly hope is based on possibility, on desire. Godly hope is based on God’s truth and God’s nature. When those who have placed their trust in Jesus hope in God they are waiting for an expected outcome.
This is why it is written that “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8.
So why does Godly hope maketh not ashamed because Godly hope is sourced in God. I encourage you to search the scriptures and find the promises of God that are contained in them. Promises that you can place your hope in knowing that your hope is assured. The greatest hope is reserved for all those who place their faith in Jesus Christ knowing that one day we will dwell with God in the presence of God forever.
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Revelations 21:3