"The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish." Proverbs 10:28
In this contrast of the righteous and wicked, the words hope and expectation carry the same idea. Hope is a confident expectation that something is going to happen. What we find in this passage is the difference in where we place our hope. The righteous put their hope in God and in His faithfulness. The reason they are glad is because they have placed their hope in a worthy place. The righteous have an object that is consistent with their expectation, and so they are glad or find joy both in the process of hoping and in receiving the expectation.
However, the person who is not interested in God and what He has said to us in His word, places his hope in the depravity of his own mind or in a fallen world. The ungodly expect that joy and gladness will be a product of sin and rebellion, and their expectation will soon perish. The wages of sin are death, if you are hoping for or expecting the outcome of your sin to be life and joy, your hope will soon perish. You will never find peace by ignoring God or His word. If you think that you will, your expectation will perish. If you expect that you can run your own life and manage your own problems apart from God, your expectation will perish. And so we are left with one question; Where are you turning to form your expectations for life?
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