Hoping in the God of Hope

I got this from the Pulpit Magazine blog.  Sometimes it is encouraging to be reminded of just how good He is.  and that He can be trusted even when we have our doubts

1. HIS PERSON: We can hope in God because of who He is.

We can hope in God and His promises because He is absolutely trustworthy — His Word can be trusted because He can be trusted. God's personality backs up the reliability of everything He says. Unlike the stereotypical used-car salesman, God's character does not contradict His promises.

As a result, we can be confident that every assurance He makes will come to pass exactly as foretold, down to the smallest detail. But what is it about God's person that makes Him so trustworthy? In order to answer this question, at least three divine attributes must be considered:

His Wisdom

Believers can hope in God, first of all, because He is perfectly wise. In fact, Psalm 147:5 notes that His understanding is infinite. And Paul, in Romans 11:33–34, exclaims, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" He needs no additional advice or help because He already possesses infinite understanding. God knows every situation, circumstance, and possibility in complete detail — and He knows how to handle each one perfectly.

As Christians, we can place our confidence fully in God's decisions because He knows exactly what He's doing. Our response to God's perfect wisdom, then, must be to trust in Him rather than in ourselves or anything else. Even Solomon, the wisest of men, advised, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).

His Righteousness

Along with God's wisdom, His perfect righteousness also allows us to hope in Him completely. The Bible is clear: God is absolutely holy, without sin, and morally perfect in every way (see Daniel 9:14; 1 John 1:5). In fact, God's holiness is a motivation for our own righteous living. Peter, quoting from Leviticus, urges his readers, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy' " (1 Peter 1:15–16).

So how does God's righteousness fit in with His trustworthiness? The answer is simple: God cannot lie because God cannot sin (Proverbs 6:16–17, 12:22). His righteousness means that He will never act in any way that compromises or contradicts His own character. Unlike a crooked politician who says one thing but means another, our holy God always means exactly what He says. He can be trusted because He is pure and breaking His Word would violate the very essence of who He is (cf. John 17:17).

His Immutability

Not only is God perfectly wise and perfectly righteous, but His character never changes. Psalm 102:26–27, directed to God, says, "They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end." James 1:17 reiterates this point, noting that in God there is no shifting of shadows. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Despite the turmoil or transition of those on this earth, God's character remains constant.

Regarding hope, God's immutable nature means that He's not going to suddenly change His mind about previous promises. He won't arbitrarily decide that salvation is no longer found in Christ or that eternal life is no longer available to those who believe. After all, the God in whom we first put our hope is still the same God now. We can cling tightly to the hope God has given because an unchanging God can only make unchanging promises.

God's person — specifically, His wisdom, righteousness, and unchanging nature — allow us to trust Him because of who He is. His words are certain because His character is certain. Thus, as Hebrews 6:18 puts it: "It is impossible for God to lie."

Tomorrow we will consider God's sovereign power, as a second reason we can confidently hope in Him.