Hope is an interesting thing. I really was curious to see what Mr. Webster had to say about it, and he even seemed a little confused with giving a strong definition. In the Verb format used with an object he says it means “to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.” It is basically having a desire after something that you do not yet have. So we are always hoping for something. For some of us it is the hope that one day we will get that perfect job. It could be that you hope to find the right person and get married one day and raise a family. Or you could even hope to win the Lottery. There are countless things that we can hope for.
What I noticed is that these desire that we have to the things in the future may or may not happen. We sometimes put so much hope into those desires coming true, that we can be extremely disappointed with the outcome of our expectations. Then we turn and put our heart back into something else hoping that will satisfy. It is this constant battle of keeping hope alive, but the problem is when your hope for that desire comes to pass it is no longer hope. Who hopes for what they already have? So what do we do next? We find another thing to desire after and hope that it to comes true. Or even worse we hope for something that really isn’t good for us and manipulate situations to satisfy our hope.
An example would be that, maybe you desire soooo badly to get married that we are willing to compromise certain attributes in order to fulfill your hopeful wants. But then you go and get married and realize that your compromise pushes you to hope for your spouse to change into your expectations. This will only cause destruction to the marriage because your hope is in change instead of thankfulness for the fulfillment of your hope.
Hope is not a bad thing and in fact it is a great thing. It is a matter of what you hope for that can either give you life or give you disappointment. When we point our hope in Jesus Christ, we will always be satisfied with the outcome. There is not “and then” when you put your hope fully in Christ. Those desires that you have become aligned with God’s will so much that you start to see miracles and blessings by what He is doing. Yes, put your total trust in Jesus and learn to hope for the things that He wants for you; which are far better then what we think we want for ourselves. He is a God that loves us and wants what is best for us, but we have to believe that. When we don’t trust God, we try to become our own god, manipulating circumstances until we find what we want. That is only a small portion of the blessing that God has to offer when we put our hope in Jesus.
Put your Hope in Jesus Christ. If you don’t know Jesus and would like to, send me a message via Facebook.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
