08/10/2026
HOPE - MORNING DEVOTION
YOUR TEST IS PRODUCING SOMETHING
By 𝓛𝓪𝓭𝔂 𝓟
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, HOPE: And hope maketh not ashamed…” — Romans 5:3–5
I want to encourage somebody today who may be losing hope.
In our culture, hope is often defined as a state of mind that wishes for something good to happen, but without any assurance that it actually will.
The key word is WISHES.
“I hope things get better.”�“I hope this works out.”�“I hope something changes.”
But biblical hope is different.
For the believer, hope is a confident expectation of something good in the future based upon our assurance in the faithfulness of God.
In other words:
Hope is the confident affirmation that GOD IS FAITHFUL.
It is the assurance that the God who started the work is able to finish it.
“He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it…” — Philippians 1:6
And here is what caught my attention:
According to Romans 5, hope is produced through the process of testing.
Tribulation produces perseverance.�Perseverance produces proven character.�And proven character produces HOPE.
That means your test is producing something in you!
Think about a teacher giving a student a test.
A good teacher does not test a student on something they have never been given the opportunity to learn. The instruction comes before the examination.
So what if we began looking at some of our spiritual tests differently?
The Test Giver has already provided what we need to endure the test.
God has given us His Word.�He has given us His Spirit.�He has given us grace.�He has given us promises.�He has given us the testimony of what He has already brought us through.
You may feel like you don't have what it takes, but perhaps the test has come to reveal what God has already deposited inside of you.
That's why Scripture can tell us to rejoice in our trials.
James 1:2–3 says:
“Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
Notice that Scripture doesn't tell us that the trial itself feels good.
It tells us to COUNT IT JOY.
That means I make a decision about how I will view what I am going through.
I choose joy over hopelessness.
I choose to remember what God has already done.
I choose to remember what His Word says.
I choose to believe that this test has not changed the character of my God.
That's why 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, “Rejoice evermore.”
Rejoicing is not merely a suggestion for the believer—it is an instruction.
Why?
Because sometimes you have to rejoice before you see the outcome.
Sometimes you have to praise God while you're still taking the test.
Sometimes you have to remind yourself:
I have been taught.�I have His Word.�I have His Spirit.�I have His grace.�I have everything I need to make it through this test.
And when you come through it, something will be different about you.
There will be endurance that wasn't there before.
There will be proven character that wasn't there before.
And there will be HOPE.
Proverbs 13:12 says:
“Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”
Maybe that's where somebody is today.
You've waited so long that your heart has become tired.
You've prayed.�You've believed.�You've stood on the Word.�But what you've been hoping for still hasn't happened.
And somewhere along the way, your hope started slipping.
But I came to remind you today:
YOUR TEST IS NOT THE END OF YOUR STORY.
Romans says the process is producing HOPE.
And this hope is not wishful thinking.
This is the kind of hope that says:
God has been faithful before, and He will be faithful again.
This is the hope that says:
“I may not know when.�I may not know how.�I may not understand the process.
�But I know WHO.”
And because I know WHO holds my future, I can have hope concerning what is ahead.
So if you're in a season of testing today, don't throw away your hope.
Your testing is producing endurance.�Your endurance is producing character.�And your character is producing HOPE.
And “hope maketh not ashamed.”
You are not coming out of this test empty-handed.
You're coming out stronger.
�You're coming out knowing God differently.�You're coming out knowing yourself differently.
And you're coming out with something that circumstances cannot manufacture and disappointment cannot easily destroy:
A CONFIDENT HOPE IN A FAITHFUL GOD.
So today…
REJOICE.�KEEP BELIEVING.�KEEP STANDING.�KEEP HOPING.
The God who brought you this far has not abandoned you in the middle of the test.
He is faithful that promised. — Hebrews 10:23
𝓛𝓪𝓭𝔂
