Hope
I keep hearing the word “hope” as I’ve asked the Lord what he wants me to write about. I decided to look up the word “hope” in the dictionary to see what I could find. The definition that jumped out to me says “To expect with confidence” and “Trust”.
Many years ago while I was in college, I had to take an English literature class. We were reading “Wuthering Heights”. I discovered early on in the class that if I just showed up, I didn’t actually have to read the book because we discussed it in full each class period. (And it turned out there were plenty of students who did read it and loved to share their thoughts …I just sat and listened.) It turned out that one of the characters had experienced abuse. I don’t really know what kind of abuse or how much. But one day the professor said “Anyone who has been that abused, there is no hope for them.” Even though I was running from God, I remember crying out to him and said “Please dear God don’t let that be true”. Hopelessness is a destructive force; One that can wreak havoc on unsuspecting souls. It brings despair and discouragement. I needed to know that when I stopped running, there would be hope. Hope that God could somehow make things better.
He made a way for there to be hope because he made a way for us to have the opportunity to know him and therefore trust him. Romans 5:3-5 (ESV) says “…but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” I like how Young’s Literal translation states v4 “and the endurance, experience; and the experience, hope; …” It’s painting the picture that the reason we can rejoice in suffering is because as we endure through sufferings, trials, or tribulations with the Lord, we build experiences with him that then give us hope. Why? Because having experiences with God is the only way we truly get to know him. And knowing him gives us hope which enables us to trust him.
I am so glad for the hope that Jesus provides. I remember the years that I lived without hope and how miserable they were. Thanks to Jesus, I no longer live without hope. Yes, there are days, weeks, months, and seasons that are hard and seem like they won’t end but the truth is, they do. But what’s even better is that during those times, as I lean on Jesus I come out knowing him better than I did before I went through the hard time. God loves us and is why his Son is the hope of the world!
