Friday, June 20 Hope does not lead to disappointment.​—Rom. 5:5.

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Friday, June 20

Hope does not lead to disappointment.—Rom. 5:5.

 

Jehovah promised his friend Abraham that all nations of the earth would be blessed by means of his offspring. (Gen. 15:5; 22:18) Because Abraham had deep faith in God, he was convinced that God’s promise would come true. Even so, when Abraham was 100 years of age and his wife was 90, that faithful couple still did not have a son. (Gen. 21:1-7) Yet, the Bible says: “Based on hope, [Abraham] had faith that he would become the father of many nations according to what had been said.” (Rom. 4:18) You know that Abraham’s hope was realized. He did become father to the son he had long hoped for, Isaac. What was the basis for Abraham’s confidence? Because of his close personal relationship with Jehovah, Abraham was “fully convinced that what [God] had promised” would come true. (Rom. 4:21) Jehovah approved of Abraham and declared him righteous because of his faith.—Jas. 2:23. w23.12 8 ¶1-2

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Jehovah once told Abraham to go outside and look up. Count the stars, He said—if you can. That’s how numerous your offspring will be. (Gen. 15:5)

 

Abraham believed Him. But then time passed. A lot of time. He got older. Sarah did too. And still—no child.

 

Yet Romans 4:18 says Abraham “had faith based on hope.” That kind of hope doesn’t just show up and stay alive on its own. Abraham fed that hope over time. How?

 

Through prayer—we can do that!

Through trust—we do that too!

We trust in Jehovah’s promises for the future just like Abraham did!

Through personal friendship with Jehovah—we are constantly working on that!

 

Hope needs care. It needs to be fed. Not just when everything feels good, but especially when nothing around you feels certain.

 

Your faith is the only thing that is certain. Keep it strong. Keep it fed.

 

So let’s break it down—how do we feed our hope?

 

We pray. Not just with words, but with heart.

We reread Jehovah’s promises, especially the ones that haven’t come true yet.

We talk with friends who remind us why we started believing in the first place.

We remember what Jehovah’s already done—and we remind ourselves that He doesn’t stop halfway.

 

A hope that’s fed is a hope that endures. And strong hope? That’s what carries us a little further, a little longer.

 

Abraham waited—and saw Jehovah deliver what He said.

 

He still does that. For us too.

 

Because “hope,” the Bible says, “does not lead to disappointment.” (Rom. 5:5)

 

So keep feeding it.