"(Agape) always hopes..."

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV)

You've already written someone off. Their name came to mind just now. That person who keeps disappointing you. The one who promises to change but never does. The family member stuck in the same destructive pattern. You've stopped believing they'll ever be different. You still interact with them, maybe even pray for them. But deep down, you've given up hope. You're just managing the relationship now, no longer expecting transformation. That loss of hope feels realistic, even wise. But it's actually unbelief disguised as maturity.

Paul could have said love 'wishes' or 'dreams.' Instead, he said love 'hopes.' The word elpizō carries weight. It means to expect with confidence, to trust in future good. This isn't naive optimism that ignores reality. It's supernatural confidence that God can transform anyone at any time. Hope doesn't deny how many times someone has failed. It believes God's power is greater than their pattern. Hope isn't stupid. It's stubbornly faithful to what God can do. When everyone else quits on someone, hope keeps believing in their potential for change.

Hope is costly because people keep disappointing you. You believed they'd stop lying. They lied again. You thought they'd finally deal with their addiction. They relapsed. You hoped this time would be different. It wasn't. Love's true face refuses to let disappointment become cynicism. Each failure makes cynicism feel justified. But love doesn't protect itself by lowering expectations. Love keeps hoping even when hope has been crushed repeatedly. That's not setting yourself up for pain. That's reflecting God's relentless hope in you.

Romans 5:5 promises hope does not put us to shame. This hope is rooted in God's love poured into our hearts. It's not wishful thinking based on human potential. It's confident expectation grounded in the Holy Spirit's power. When you hope in someone's transformation, you're not trusting their willpower. You're trusting God's ability to break through any hardness. The Spirit who transformed you can transform anyone. Your hope isn't in them getting better on their own. Your hope is in God doing what only He can do.

Here's the question that exposes your heart. Who have you decided is beyond God's reach? Whose name makes you think, "They're too far gone"? That thought reveals you've limited God's power in your mind. You've decided His grace has boundaries your experience defines. But Scripture is full of impossible transformations. Saul the persecutor became Paul the apostle. Peter the denier became Peter the rock. The thief on the cross entered paradise. God specializes in elevating the unlikely and redeeming the impossible.

Godseekers, choosing hope is an act of worship. When you refuse to give up on someone, you're declaring God is greater than their worst choices. When you keep believing in their potential, you're proclaiming the Spirit's power to transform. Stop letting disappointment turn you cynical. Stop protecting yourself by expecting nothing. Instead, ask God to renew your hope in that person who keeps failing. Pray specifically for their breakthrough. Speak words of belief in their future. Let the Spirit keep your hope alive when everyone else has quit. That's not foolishness. That's faith.

Prayer

Loving Father, I praise You for never giving up on me. When I was lost, You pursued me. When I failed repeatedly, You remained faithful. When everyone else would have quit, You kept hoping. Forgive me for writing people off and deciding they're beyond Your reach. I confess I've protected myself by lowering my expectations. I've chosen cynicism over hope. Fill me with Your Spirit so I can hope in others the way You've hoped in me. Renew my confidence in Your power to transform anyone. Help me choose hope when everyone else quits. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Personal Reflection

Who have you given up on internally, and what would it look like to start hoping in their transformation again through God's power?

When was the last time someone's repeated failure made you decide they'd never change, and how does God's persistent hope in you challenge that conclusion?

Step of Faith

Today, I will choose one person I've written off and pray specifically for God to transform them, asking Him to renew my hope in what He can do in their life.