We don’t usually go to romantic movies, but sometimes adventure movies include a romantic relationship. Inevitably, a great act of sacrifice is made for the beloved, and the beauty of surrender is captured as the hero relinquishes all to gain that which is priceless. In the movies, virtue and value are given to sacrifice for the cause of love.
In the physical world, surrender is not often viewed as valuable. Our world does not conform to the truths of scripture. Surrender does not seem like victory, but it is. Submitting to this truth challenges our self-sufficiency and pride. We desire our own understanding (Prov. 3:5-6), but God desires faith with hope and expectation founded on His truth in scripture.
Hope changes everything in our lives. One definition of hope states it this way, “expectation of a favorable future under God’s direction”.
Hope is what encourages us to look forward with optimism because we trust God’s faithfulness. Humility, discipline and hope demonstrate the broad and all-encompassing spectrum of surrender. The powerful motivation to live in surrender stems from God’s love for us and our belief in Him. Hope is fixed on the truth of God’s word.
We learn and grow in hope as we invest time in scripture and prayer.
Romans 15:4(NCV)
Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope.
Stay immersed in God’s word, because without hope we can only desperately cling to our present desires, which will never fulfill us.
With or without hope, our lives cycle through good and bad, easy and difficult. As we surrender to God’s love, we live an ongoing, hope-filled life that carries us through difficulties and produces a righteous character within us.
Romans 5:1-5(NCV)
Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 who through our faith has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. 3 We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. 4 And patience produces character, and character produces hope. 5 And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.
God knows we will face challenges. Every character in scripture faced challenges. Our hope is not depleted, but strengthened in these troubles.
Here is the amazing progression: Troubles →patience →character →hope
This hope does not disappoint, because God’s love through the Holy Spirit keeps us in His peace and grace.
When we look at scripture, we understand that God’s ways do not conform to our perspectives. As we consider every name in the “Hall of Faith” from Hebrews 11, we gain a clearer picture of God’s purposes exceeding and even inverting our human understanding. Jesus’ life is a perfect example of God changing earthly expectations to eternal good for humanity. We glorify God as we anticipate His plans for our future and hope.