Hope in Tomorrow

Hope. Perceived as such a simple word. Yet it's a word with an extremely powerful and eternal meaning. Every day, though, we throw "hope" around as a very mortal term of expectation, thus diluting how powerful it really is.

The definition of hope on this earth is "to wish something with expectation of its fulfillment". But the cool thing is that Biblical hope doesn't stop at a wish; it provides an assurance of knowledge that will ultimately be fulfilled. Daily, we "hope" we made a good grade on a test, we "hope" our children make good decisions, and we "hope" life flows in a certain order, but there is no assurance to that hope, no promise to the fulfillment of our expectations. Hope in God, though, is always fulfilled.

So what's the difference? The object of our hope.

Hope is about trust, but when we trust people, there is no guarantee...when we trust God, though, there is an absolute guarantee. The Word of God promises many things, and each of them will be fulfilled in His own time. This is why we are able to find peace in hope. We are able to rest in the knowledge that God works all things for good, that he is covering us with his mercy as we walk this earth, and that one day we will be able to look upon His face and find rest.

I just finished reading Mary Beth Chapman's book Choosing to See. It was, at the same time, the most heart-wrenching and the most acutely beautiful book I have ever read. The Chapmans are a picture of what hope in God truly means. To literally walk through the valley of the shadow of death and come out the other side stronger and closer to God than they were before is a beautiful demonstration of the power of hope in the Lord. That is not to say that life is not a difficult journey. Mary Beth Chapman makes it abundantly clear that she struggles on a daily, if not hourly basis. Pain is a part of her life now, and it will never leave her, but she clings to the hope....the absolute truth....that she will see her little girl again soon!

I have found my hope in the Lord, but I admit, it takes effort each day to keep that focus.