Got Hope?
got
hope?
Hope
waits.
Hope
trusts.
Hope
anticipates.
Hope
longs and expects.
Hope is
unseen.
Have you ever prepared something you
couldn’t wait to deliver? You lovingly
create this special item and then rehearse every scenario of the moment it is received. But when the time comes, things don’t go as
planned. Somehow the delivery was
bungled. The timing skewed. The reception less than perfect. What happened? Nothing went as you had imagined. Now you’re
left with great disappointment; dreams deflating like a leaky balloon. All your
hopes, poof – gone in an instant.
Aww, such
is life, my mother would say. But why?
Is it
because we are temporal and our life, in its best state is but a vapor that
appears for a little while and then vanishes away?[1]
Is it
because we live in a sin-cursed world where everything groans, awaiting the
revealing of the sons and daughters of God?[2]
Possibly.
But thankfully, we cannot see the future.
If we could, chances are we would not have even tried. We never would
have begun the task of creating our special item, let alone try to deliver
it. On the other hand, what is the line
in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem? “Tis better to have loved and lost than to
never have loved at all.”
Yet, it
doesn’t feel better during the emotional pain of heartbreak. Nor does it feel
like we should have created a special item when our dreams are dashed.
Nevertheless,
we are more loving, because we loved and we’re stronger, because we tried. So,
it’s much better to try a special task and fail at the delivery, than to have
never tried at all – right?
If you
say no, then answer this: Even though
our item was not as well received as we would have liked, does this mean it was
not worth doing? Maybe for the moment our hopes and dreams disappeared, but
should we quit trying altogether?
No, on
both accounts. We learn from our mistakes. We apologize, make corrections,
change our approach, and we know in our heart the next time things will go
better. This, my friends, is hope.
Hope is to desire with expectation of
obtainment[3]
and God created us with hope. Yet hope in the physical is fleeting and
finite. When life is over, so too, our hope. Unless, we believe in Jesus Christ. Then hope extends beyond life. It is eternal
because Jesus is eternal and He is our Hope.
Most
humans do hope
for something beyond physical life, but without Christ, their hope
is misplaced. Still, they hope just the same, for God set eternity in
the heart of man. And because He did, believers are given an open door that no
man can shut. So, take the time to walk through it. Share the gospel. Don’t
worry about delivery, timing, or failure. That’s God’s job.
Then wait
for the seed to take root. Trust it will grow and bear fruit. Anticipate, long
and expect God to finish the good work He started. And all you who hope
in the Lord, continue in faith and be of good courage for He, who loves you
with an everlasting love, shall strengthen your heart.[4]
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