Hope for the Hopeless

When I was a child, my classmates and I often enjoyed the winter because there was a heightened probability of a snow day. Snow days meant no school, no homework, no studying, no teachers, np pop quizzes, and everything else that prevented us from playing, eating candy, and watching cartoons. We got a free day! As we grew, history suddenly zapped that hope and we became a little more cynical. Hope became a fleeting thing and instead of thinking how great a snow day would be, we started guffawing with the belief that it would never happen.  

Our hope often dabbles in the unknown. We haven’t seen evidence that sways one way or another. But the “hope” is in the result we desire to see. That’s why we cling to it in just about every area of our lives. Think of all the different sayings out there. “I had high hopes…” “ My hope is…” “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi…” You get the gist. If we give up on whatever it is we are hoping in, then we easily drift into a place of despair and…hopelessness. 

From the perspective of a believer, hope is a lot more than lip service. It’s easy to say “I hope”. That’s why there are so many sayings involving the word. It’s different when you have to put it into practice. I mentioned how our hope is in what we desire to see. That means we haven’t seen it yet. But the outcome that we desire is our hope. This is important for us as believers as so much of our faith centers on the unseen.

Thinking about this from a spiritual perspective, faith kicks in because God has already proven himself to us in many other ways. So trusting in him becomes easier, even if we don’t see any evidence yet of things hoped for. My hope allows me to trust that God truly does desire good things for me. The concept of anything contrary opens up the doorway to hopelessness. Afterall, if I don’t have hope, then I can’t believe that God even hears my prayers. But because I do have hope, I keep praying. Even if I haven’t seen evidence of the answers to the prayers.

So, know that it matters a great deal where we place our hope. If it’s in stuff, then the outcome will continue to be drenched in uncertainty. But, if our hope is in Christ, then the outcome is as certain as the promises left on record for us in the scriptures. 

Stay Sunny! 

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