Hope doesn’t usually vanish in one dramatic moment. More often, it leaks away slowly.
You prayed, but the answer didn’t come.
You believed for breakthrough, but nothing changed.
You held onto a promise, but the wait stretched so long you wondered if you misheard.
We’ve all felt it—whether during COVID, in strained relationships, financial stress, or health struggles. Sometimes hope feels like setting yourself up for disappointment, so we lower expectations and settle.
Hope Has a Source
Paul writes to Christians in Rome who had little reason to expect good news. Yet he points them back to Scripture: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”
Here’s the key takeaway: Hope isn’t based on your circumstances; it’s based on God’s track record.
When you’re in the waiting room, you don’t need a feeling—you need a fact. And the fact is: God has never failed to keep His promises. Not once.
Delay Isn’t Denial
Waiting is hard. But Paul reminds us that God gives patience and encouragement. The gap isn’t wasted—it’s where God develops endurance, deepens trust, and grows faith.
Think about Abraham waiting 25 years for Isaac. Joseph waiting in prison. David waiting to be king. Israel waiting 400 years for deliverance. Every one of them would say: The wait was worth it.
So what if the delay isn’t denial, but development? What if God is growing something in you that only grows in the dark?
Don’t Quit Now
What are you about to give up on that God is asking you to hold onto a little longer?
Your marriage.
Your child.
Your job.
Your health.
The moment you give up is often right before the breakthrough. God’s track record says He shows up—sometimes early, sometimes late, but always on time.
Four Practical Steps to Hold Hope
Name it. Where has hope run low? Be honest. Where have you stopped believing? Where have you settled?
Find a promise. Anchor yourself to Scripture. Romans 8:28 (God works all things together for good), Psalm 34:18 (The Lord is close to the brokenhearted), Hebrews 13:5 (I will never leave you or forsake you). Write it down. Put it where you’ll see it.
Pray the promise. Not as a wish, but as confidence. Pray it daily as a declaration of trust.
Share the hope. Overflow into someone else’s life. Speak peace into panic. Bring calm into chaos. Remind others that God is still good, even when life is hard.
Romans 15:13 says: “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.”
When our hope is rooted in God, it doesn’t just sustain us—it spills over. In a world divided, anxious, and angry, overflowing hope is a powerful witness.
Bottom Line: Advent is about more than remembering Jesus’ first coming. It’s about holding hope in the gap until His second coming. Don’t measure God’s faithfulness by your timeline—measure it by His track record.
Ready or not, the King is coming. Let’s hold on to hope.
