To Hope or not to Hope?

You know I have been pondering this for a couple of weeks now. Hope - a small word yet one that gets thrown around a lot. When I look the word hope up in the dictionary there are a couple of "definitions" that I really liked.

1. The feeling that what is wanted can be had....
2. A person or thing in which expectations are centered
3. To look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence
4. To trust, expect or believe

Humm... Good definitions. I hope that we get that job; I hope that they make it home safely; I hope that my team wins; I hope that......Fill in the blank - We can put anything in there that we hope for or hope in.  

I guess I have been thinking about this because I know of people who lost hope. People who just decided it was not worth it anymore. People who push and struggle to keep going because they had hope - but somewhere along they line they lost that hope. They decided that they just couldn't do it.

It makes me sad to think that a couple of those people gave up completely. They so completely lost hope that the only answer they could come up with was to take their own life. It breaks my heart that they saw that as their only option.

Then I think about those who continue to push through - they go through the motions of life but if they would stop they would admit that they have no hope - they have nothing to believe in or trust in. For them their life is nothing more than just doing what is expected. They see no value in their life and they don't care.

Know anyone like that? Maybe you feel that way? What is it in life that has you feeling as if the hope is gone? Is it family? Friends? Health? Money? I think there are times when we all feel that hope is hard to see or find - when life is hard and you scratch your head wondering if it is ever going to end.

I know I have - wondered if life would ever get better. Wondered if I would ever have my health back & my life back. Wondered if I would ever feel "normal" after the death of a family member.  Did I lose my hope? humm well when I think about that I have to go back to the definitions above and then ask myself what do I have my hope in?


1. The feeling that what is wanted can be had...What is it I want?
2. A person or thing in which expectations are centered....Who is it I put my hope in?
3. To look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence....What am I looking forward to?

4. To trust, expect or believe...What I am trusting in or believing?


As a believer in Jesus Christ I can say without a doubt what my hope is - I want to be made into His likeness and His word tells me He is doing that. The person I put my hope in is Jesus Christ - there is nothing or anyone else. When I put my hope on things or in people I will only be disappointed.  What I look forward to or hope towards would be His return or my entrance into Eternity. That is what I know to be in my future. I trust it, expect it AND believe it.

I don't have the "market" on not losing hope - And I certainly know that the enemy is very much at work to bring me down. What I do know is what Paul says in Philippians 1:6 "For I am confident of this one thing - that He who began that work will complete it" He being Jesus - will not be finished with me until I step onto the other side of eternity.

I don't know what your hope is in tonight - I do not know what circumstances you are facing in life. What I do know is that the same hope I have is ready and available for the asking. Doesn't mean life will be easier - Doesn't mean that all your problems will disappear. What it does mean is that you will have hope - You will have purpose because of Who you belong to.

Don't give up - Don't throw it away. Feeling like you just don't care? Talk to someone - let others reach you and help you.

It reminds me of the song "On Christ the Solid Rock"
"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus Name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand - all other ground is sinking sand"

His Love Never Fails

It is hard to imagine that one could find a wise, philosophical moment while sitting in the laundry mat but alas it has happened. 

Yesterday morning as I was watching the clothes go round and round in the dryer I was thinking of the people in my life who are going through some very hard things. Health issues, job issues (or no job), death of family or friends, and so much more.

People are in hard places and it is hard to sit back and watch at times. I am a "fixer" so I want to get in there and fix it - make it better but I can't. There is nothing I can do but come alongside & support through prayer and just being God's hands when possible.

In our service this morning I was reminded of a couple of verses - Romans 8:28 & Ephesians 3:20. 


Romans 8:28 says that He works all things together for our good. It doesn't say it will feel good - it says for OUR good. Which means He must have a purpose. He must know that the outcome is. He HAS to know where the end is and that we will come out on the other side.


Ephesians 3:20 says He is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. His love is so beyond our comprehension and His power so above what we could imagine - it is too much to try and think on. 

He - through His power & love - walks us through the hard (& the good) times. Sometimes it doesn't make sense but on the other side of it He becomes so much more beyond what we could imagine. And then we become just a little bit more like Him.

So what does all of this have to do with watching the dryer at the launder-mat? Absolutely nothing! The dryer did not inspire me - God's word did:)


His Love Never Fails, His Mercies Are New Every Morning, Great Is His Faithfulness & He Is ALWAYS working things for our good