The only reason some relationships last is because one person has a desire and expectation that it can. This hope is all that some people have. All evidence may say that things are or should be over. But one person will simply not let go of the idea that it can go forward. These are the heroes. To hope is ‘to cherish a desire with anticipation’. It is to want something enough that actually you believe it will happen… especially something that is improbable. We hope for a lot of things in our lives. We hope we will get a promotion. We hope we don’t have cancer. We hope our child will grow up well. We hope our marriage will survive a storm. These are things we want. We desire them to the point where we expect them to happen. Some people think we are crazy to have some improbable expectations. I think it is crazy to not have improbable expectations. But we know that if we lose hope, or give up our expectations that something good will happen, we are turning off the light in life. Show me a person without hope, and I will show you a person in deep trouble. Some people do struggle with hope because they have seen so many things go wrong in their life. They decide to not long for better things ahead. But hope isn’t based on what we see. It is based on what we desire. And desire starts in the heart, which is the same place love starts. In fact, hope and love are intertwined. If you find a man’s desire or the things he loves, you find his hope. Hope is the forecast of love. Perhaps this is why the apostle Paul when explaining love to the early Christians wrote, “Love hope all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7) Hope is part of a struggle of passions. When circumstances are trying to drown you, or your relationships, love exhibits hope that things will work out. There is a tug of war going on in our lives. Light and darkness are the opponents. If you read the entire 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians, you find that for the believer, love is the primary force. So in this tug of war, love flexes its hope muscle to pull hard on the rope. That which would be lost to despair and doubt is seen by hope. Hope gives rise to faith in our lives. And faith is expressed through love. It has been said that, “Hope sees the invisible. Faith secures the invisible. And love shows the invisible.” The fact that something is invisible does not mean it doesn’t exist. It simply means it cannot be seen with the natural eyes. Hope sees these things. That’s why when people would say to Jesus that someone was dead, He would give them hope by telling them what He saw… “They are only sleeping.” If we are to love others, we should be giving them hope. Today you will have the opportunity to share hope with others. Often times it is the last but of light in someone’s life, and one of the clearest ways of showing love. Share it well and share it often. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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AuthorMy name is David, and I want to know God more, and help other people find Him. Archives
March 2019
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