Hope for the New Year - If I Can Be Delivered Once, I Can Be Delivered Again

“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4). Hope is one of the strongest forces in the universe. It gives people the ability to keep moving forward. If I was delivered once, I can be delivered again. Think about this illustration. A bunch of rats were placed in a vat of water in an experiment. They swam furiously for hours, but eventually, they started to give up. Moments before their impending death, they were rescued. Dried. Fed. Allowed to rest for several days. Then they were placed back into the vat of water. What was the difference the second time? Instead of swimming for only a few hours before giving up, they swam for 24 hours straight before showing signs of giving up. How did they last so much longer? They believed that since they had been saved once before, they could be saved again. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:10 that God “delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.” Think of a time God has made a way where there seemed to be no way out. Remember the joy and gratitude you felt in that moment. Can you feel hope rising up in your heart? Now remember. If God did it once, he can do it again! Persevere. Don’t give up. Hope does not disappoint.