Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy, (Basilica of St. Mary over Minerva) taken by Martha Wiggins, 2011
“Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God.” Psalm 146:5
Hope, as defined in Websters New World Dictionary, is either a noun or a verb. The definition of the noun is TRUST; trust that what is wanted will happen. The definition of the verb is WANT, EXPECT.
Hope is such a small word, and yet such a powerful word. With hope we live and breathe and move. With hope we pursue our dreams. Without hope we cease to function properly; we just go through the motions.
Hope is at the core of our being. It is an innate quality in each one of us. To not have hope, it must be killed within us. Even then, it will keep knocking at the door, trying to reenter. It will do so over and over again. It takes adversity upon adversity upon adversity to truly kill it, and even then there is still a glimmer, a what if, deep within us.
When my children were growing up I decided to give each of them a Bible verse of their own. My middle son’s was Isaiah 40:31, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” At times, throughout his young life, when things didn’t go as he planned, or hoped for, the verse reminded him that we must ‘hope in the Lord’ and not in ourselves. Our hope must be for God’s will to be accomplished in our life. When our hope is in the Lord, our future is secure. My son is grown and married now, but still has his verse hanging in their bedroom at his own place, and I must say, it warms my heart.
Children usually bounce back pretty fast from adversity and move on to the next hope. As grown ups, however, with grown up responsibilities, it is often easy to allow our hopes and dreams to fade into the background. We often choose to let go of our hopes and dreams before we ever reach them, before we become too disappointed. They are just too difficult to achieve when our adult responsibilities and problems get in the way. And yet, even if we think we have let them go, or filed them away, they are always lurking in the back of our mind. It may be that we are living through circumstances that seem impossible, or that aren’t turning out the way we envisioned them. Something always seems to be missing, making us feel incomplete. That something is hope.
I believe in hope. Without it I could not function. Hope is the fuel which propels me forward in life. With hope in my heart, I am able to work through my problems and enjoy my life to the fullest. I not only want and expect, but I have trust that what I want will happen. My hope is in the Lord!
If you are without hope, if you have given up, it is time to give in. Not to give in to despair, but time to give in to God. He has been trying to reach you. He has been standing at the door knocking. If in your pain, grief, discouragement, or despair, you haven’t heard Him, look deep within and know that hope can be rekindled through Him, with Him, and in Him. Give Him a chance. Maybe you have already given Him many chances, but do so once more, and have faith. Have hope that He will show you the way. Hope in the Lord, your God.
“There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.” Hosea 2:15
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