A WORD FOR TODAY, June 5, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, June 5, 2025
“Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:1-5, WEB
We have reached graduation time, an exciting even for students, families, and school staff. At most schools, the line of graduates begins with the highest achieving students, young men and women who had the highest grades and awards. The schools often list the scholarships each students received from schools of their choice and organizations that they supported. We attended an annual awards ceremony a few years ago where the principal announced that the students had earned millions of dollars’ worth of scholarships, some of which were full-ride monies that would pay for their entire college career.
These monetary awards are not just about the money, though. Scholarships are also about hard work and are indicative of a student’s commitment not only to the academics but also to the organizations to which they belong whether it be sports, service, or arts. The organizations and sponsoring groups not only want to give those students the financial aid they might need to get through college, but also the recognition for their talents, actions, and dedication. I am always happy when I see that the award winners are not just those who have the highest grades but are those who do the best they can in all areas of life. We have high hopes for all our children and rejoice with them in all their accomplishments.
I have had similar hopes for my own life and rejoice when good things happen. Unfortunately, we are often disappointed. We don’t get the scholarship or the job promotion. Relationships are broken. Accidents happen. People we love die. We do not always do as well as we hope. We often suffer from illness and disease. The world around us is imperfect and that imperfection manifests in our lives, creating roadblocks to the utopian world for which we hope. It is impossible to rejoice in hope, knowing that our hopes will often fail.
The hope we hear about in this passage, however, is not a hope that will fail. We often think of hope in terms of things that are little more than wishes and dreams, trusting and hoping in things that are created and perishable. However, when God speaks of hope, it is something more. Hope in God’s promises is not something that will fail or disappoint, it is the expectation of the fulfillment of God’s Word. Paul wrote that we are justified by faith, and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus. Through Him we have access to the faith that justifies us. All of this comes because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That hope does not disappoint.
This does not mean that we will never suffer. As a matter of fact, suffering is part of the circle of faith: joy in the hope and joy in the suffering leads to perseverance leads to character leads to hope. It is part of the life of faith. The joy we feel is not a giddy happiness because everything is perfect, but it is living in the expectation of God’s amazing grace. Will God’s grace grant us everything we hope for? Will we receive the rewards of life for our accomplishments? Not necessarily. However, if those hopes fail there is always a greater hope, one that will never fail. That hope rests on the promises of God through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. He does not disappoint.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org