From Handbook to God’s Promises
God Is Trustworthy
Psalm 42:5, 11: A Place for Hope
What is hope? It is the joyful anticipation of things to come. But it is also an agonizing longing, an aching and unfulfilled desire. Contradictory feelings of joy and agony reside in the believer’s hopeful experience. Sometimes, like the bride awaiting her wedding day, we anticipate the life to come with tingling pleasure. At other times, however, like the barren woman who yearns for a child, we hope with tears.
Regardless of how we feel, Scripture instructs us ultimately to place our hope in Jesus (Hebrews 6:19–20), who will return one day to release us from earthly uncertainties. Whether we look forward to Him with joy or tears, “let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).