I’m coming back to one of my frequent themes this week: Hope.
I hope no one minds. Oops, see what I did there?
We throw that word “hope” around pretty casually: I hope it doesn’t snow tomorrow. I hope she calls me back. I hope I don’t gain a pound from eating this ice cream.
Hope is so much more than just wishing for something. The modern definition is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen,” but the archaic meaning is “a feeling of trust.”
That’s the meaning of hope we need to cling to. We can wish all we want for certain things to happen, but that feeling of trust is what gets us through, even when the thing we’re hoping for doesn’t happen.
Hope (that feeling of trust) helps us keep getting up in the morning when life seems too hard.
Hope helps us to keep praying for someone we love, even when we don’t see the results we’re hoping for.
Hope lets us keep going, day after day, sure of our salvation in Christ even when we aren’t sure where the path will take us in life.
I chose a picture of one of my favorite places for my graphic this week: The Grand Canyon. That beautiful, wild, gigantic place often reminds me of the hope we have to hold onto. Whether you’re going down or coming back up, there are times when you think you’ll never reach the end. You hike along the switchbacks, round a corner, and realize you still can’t see your destination. You heave a sigh and keep putting one foot in front of the other. And eventually, without fail, you make it because you didn’t stop and give up.
That’s what hope means to me. It’s trusting deeply in the LORD and refusing to give up. Hope is getting up every day. Hope is saying a prayer and moving ahead (sometimes quickly and sometimes painfully slow).
Hope hangs on tight and never lets go.
“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, LORD, is in you. (Psalm 25:21 NIV)
Do you have a hard time holding onto hope? How can focusing on God help you to hope in Him and not give up?
*Gary and I spoke in church about our experience with anxiety and depression this past Sunday at our church. We titled it “Finding Hope” (you can watch it on YouTube) and also told people about the Fresh Hope support group which will begin here in Platte on Monday, January 4 at 7:00 p.m. at First Reformed Church (101 N Main St – use East doors). If you live in the area and want support and encouragement for your mental health, please come check it out!
The subject of hope is my favorite! When I focus on God’s past goodness and faithfulness to me, I am filled with hope because He doesn’t change. Thanks for your hope-filled post!
Oh good, Susan! Glad you liked it. I think hope comes easier to some people (or maybe it’s just my problems with depression at times). It needs to be a choice, doesn’t it? Keep choosing hope!