We all want hope. Lots of it. By nature, it seems to come in very small ways, in between the layered pains of life - a “glimmer of hope.” Hope is truly essential to our mental health. It brightens our moments and mood, and it gives us something to look forward to. Hope is a small word, but with huge implications.
In its noun form, it appears to just be an emotion: "The feeling that what is wanted can be had, or that events will turn out for the best". And as a verb it seems more active, but still, is based on our attitude: "To look forward to, with desire and reasonable confidence".
Our bible treats hope with more weight because of what is hoped for. Rather than just that our earthly concerns will turn out well for us, biblical hope takes on an eternal dimension. In Hebrews (6:19) our inspired, heavenly hope is a point of strength: "This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls". Okay, now we're getting somewhere.
I love the way the bible describes the perfect trifecta of faith, hope and love. Hope by itself seems a bit “lonely” and perhaps can be too self-centered? To me that's significant because our lives were not intended to be only about just one of these. They all work together for us in beautiful concert.
As dynamic elements of our personal story, consider this:
Faith is action. A request to step out of the boat into the violent waves. It's all in!
Hope is about our attitude, how we view our current lessons of the soul. Good hope sustains this process for the long haul. And it gives us a future.
Love is always the goal -- the real reason for what we go through in life. We are to be fully invested in God's purifying of our love; with ourselves, towards the people in our lives, and back to Father God.
Corinthians 13:12-13
"Now we see a dim reflection in a mirror; but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love."
Yes, love is the endgame. But what about hope? To me, it's the dim reflection - the glimmer. It's also our promise, a down payment for our later reward. And it's a choice - our daily (or more) choice.
Our hearts are home to hope, and we are to invite it in. In this day of rampant cynicism amidst high expectations, our constant challenge is to hit refresh, purify our hearts, and return to our blessed hope.
Proverbs 4:23
"Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life".
In this season of advent, we all need hope. Even BIG hope!
About the Author
Terry is a man in constant motion to explore new horizons. He has a thirst for new places and faces, and a deep love for the natural world - with a weakness for waterfalls and sunsets. All of this venturing out helps to both ground and inspire him, because it opens him up to people, with their vast, collective array of experiences, outlooks and responses.
He finds all of this fascinating and sees that it has encouraged the growth of something crucial in his Christian development: empathy and compassion toward his brothers and sisters on this planet.