Hope is often looked upon as a kind of luck. The “grease”, if you will, that helps you slide through difficult situations. We tell ourselves: “I hope I don’t run out of gas.”, or, “I hope I win the lottery.”, or, “I hope I am not alone the rest of my life.” Unfortunately, this is not hope, it’s wishful thinking. It is a frame-of-mind that is trying to brace for the potential of failure. It is a coping mechanism–a kind of mental psych-up. None of this is the hope that we are promised in Scripture.
The hope we are promised is an abiding trust that can’t be lost, no matter the circumstances. As with joy, it is a state of being, not a state of mind. To hope is not to wish, but to know. It is to know deeply that you are the son or daughter of a very real and very alive God who loves you completely, and who will never abandon you. It is this “knowing” that gives you the enduring confidence to live in what is often a very difficult world, secure that there is something greater. What that greater is often is not known, but it doesn’t matter. Just trusting that something greater lay ahead allows you to endure the pain and uncertainty of today. The Resurrection is the ultimate fulfillment of Our Lord’s promise of something greater. Jesus offers this same promise to you. Claim it by trusting in Him.
Originally posted 2013-08-31 11:00:46.
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