Hope That Anchors the Soul

You have been waiting for that job for eight months. The interviews came and went. Each time, hope rose—then fell. Your family depends on your income. The bills pile up. In the dark hours before dawn, you lie awake wondering if God has forgotten you. Your hope, once burning bright, now flickers like a candle in the wind. This is the cry of many in Nigeria today: “Where is my hope? Has it deceived me?”

Paul writes to the Romans with a promise that cuts through such despair: hope makes not ashamed. This is not hope in your circumstances, your connections, or your qualifications. This is hope grounded in the love of God that has been poured into your heart by the Holy Ghost. The Greek word for “ashamed” means to be put to shame, to be disappointed and humiliated. Paul declares: this will not happen to you.

Why? Because your hope rests not on what you see, but on whom you know. The love of God—shed abroad in your heart—is the foundation. You do not feel it every moment, yet it is there, unchanging and eternal. When circumstances contradict your prayers, when delay stretches your faith thin, the Holy Ghost testifies within you of a love that cannot fail. As it is written in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Hope that does not disappoint is not optimism. It is not positive thinking. It is certainty rooted in the character of God. He has promised to finish the work He began in you (Philippians 1:6). He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). These are not suggestions—they are covenant words sealed by His blood.

The delays you face are not abandonment. The silence you endure is not rejection. God is working, even when the evidence is hidden. Your job may come tomorrow or next year. It may come in a form you did not expect. But God’s love toward you is fixed. His purpose for your life will not be thwarted. The Holy Ghost dwelling in you is the guarantee—the earnest—of all that God has promised.

This week, when doubt whispers its lies, remember: your hope is not in outcomes you can see. It is in a God you can trust. Test this truth in prayer. When fear grips you, pause and acknowledge the Holy Ghost’s presence within. Speak the promise aloud: “My hope does not shame me, because God’s love has been given to me.” Let these words anchor your soul.

Lord, strengthen my hope in Your unfailing love, and help me rest in Your perfect plan.