May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 NIV

In these challenging days, our world could use some hope.

Hope matters. It helps us persevere. Without it, we are tempted to quit when we should keep going. Still, as important as hope is, I would suggest that the object of our hope is what matters. We must hope in the right direction.

As the world continues to deal with racial tensions, political divisions, the ongoing fallout from COVID-19 and its variants, and other challenges, we have seen the absolute folly of putting our hope in our self-sufficiency. We have been reminded, too, that putting our hope in our finances, our workout program or health-consciousness, the government, any political parties, science, or any number of other things will lead to disappointment. And that is the rub.

Hope is good, but if we place our hope on the wrong thing, we risk serious disappointment.

In Romans 5:1-6, Paul reminds us of a hope that will not disappoint:

1. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
2. Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 
3. Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 
4. Perseverance, character; and character, hope. 
5. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.