The Fuel of Hope
Fuel is an interesting thing. Look around and you can find things all over that are running on something. Whether it’s a car and gasoline or our own bodies and calories – this relationship is everywhere.
I was thinking about this regarding hope the other day. Hope functions like fuel for our inner lives. Here’s what I mean: when we believe the future will be better than the present, hope gives us the motivation to keep moving toward it.
In the same way, when hope is lost, you’ll find a noticeable shift in your energy and drive. It’s no wonder that the Bible places such a high importance on the value of the hope produced by the Gospel. “Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Paul writes in his first letter to Timothy about godliness, “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God” (1 Timothy 4:10a).
Of course, there are a million different things you could hope for and, unfortunately, many of them simply set us up for disappointment because they simply won’t come true or will leave us in a place of lack. The rich man who hopes for more money will never be satisfied. The person who hopes that a purchase will bring them lasting joy. The examples are countless.
The sad part is that so many people spend their lives pursuing something that will never fully satisfy them. Here’s where the promised hope of the Gospel is truly beautiful, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:5).
This is a concluding thought by Paul to tie up his point on what gets produced in us as we endure challenging times – a hope that will not lead us to disappointment. Friend, setting your hope on the living God requires perseverance, attention, and it will cost you. And there’s such wonder in the promise of God when His Word tells us – oh, but you will not be disappointed.
The world gives you an endless number of things to hope in. Every one of them, apart from Jesus, will ultimately leave you unfulfilled. Those hopes may fuel you for a short while, just as a bag of chips provides a quick burst of energy. But if you relied on Doritos for your nourishment, your body would soon experience far more than hunger – it would begin to waste away.
What we hope in is like that. And so, friend, what are you hoping in today? And a deeper question, what kind of person will you become if you received everything you hoped for – ultimately, where are your hopes leading you?
Push back against the streams of culture that want to sweep you up into disappointing hopes. Let me remind you that you were made on purpose for a purpose and that’s to live in union with the God who made you. As believers, this is our ultimate hope, it’s where we’re heading – there will not be a shred of disappointment there.
