Finding Hope
Hope.
It is a simple four letter word with a complex meaning. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, hope is first defined as “to cherish a desire with anticipation.”
We, as humans, all have dreams, wishes, and desires, that we long to see come true. We strive and work hard for these ideas and passions, letting them pave the path for our lives. In fact, having hope as an anticipation for the future is a vital part of human existence.
But, if 2020 has taught us anything, it is that life is hard. There are times, more often than not, that these dreams, wishes, and desires don’t come true. Instead, life brings disappointments, sadness, sickness, and overwhelming situations that spark anxiety in our souls.
When the weight of the events and circumstances around us come crashing in, it is easy and normal to feel hopeless. The darkness of the world creeps into our lives and threatens to steal our joy and hope for tomorrow.
Hopelessness can feel like many different things. Maybe you feel caught in a violent storm, desperately treading water and waiting for a boat to come help. Maybe you feel like you are holding the whole world on your shoulders, but your strength is slowly giving out.
Will there be a way out? Will it ever end? These become common questions in our day to day life. Problems the size of pebbles turn to mountains. Little streams of doubt turn into raging oceans.
Trying to find motivation during these times seems nearly impossible. Hope turns into nothing more than a lost cause. This is when hope is needed the most.
But what do you do when you lose hope?
You see, hope also means to trust; to expect with confidence. Hope is having a strong faith and trusting that despite the circumstances the good work that was begun in you will be completed.
This is different from an optimistic hope. Optimistic hope is choosing to see the good in all circumstances. Whereas real and fulfilling hope is choosing to have hope despite the outcome of circumstances.
For this kind of hope to work, trust needs to be placed confidently in an anchor that is unshakeable and remains steady throughout the changing circumstances of life.
As a Center, our hope is found in our salvation in Christ Jesus. This confidence acts as our soul anchor, tethering us to hope.
This hope, this hand outstretched, is reaching for you. Christ Jesus is reaching with open arms to walk with you in an abundant life full of hope that does not disappear with the tides of life.
Even if the world gives way and mountains tremble into the heart of the sea, whose waters roar and swell, Jesus is in the midst. He is a fortress that can not be moved.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet, wrote a poem about this constant hope. On Christmas Day in 1863, Longfellow was grieving the death of his beloved second wife Fannie, who tragically died two years before.
Earlier that month, Longfellow had also received word that his son, who was a soldier in the Civil War, had suffered a gun wound that threatened to paralyze him.
In short, Longfellow felt hopeless.
“And in despair I bowed my head;
”There is no peace on earth,” I said;
”For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
He wrote. He wept. He sighed out a breath of soulful exhaustion.
But then he heard a sound.
“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
”God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail.
Breathe in that hope. Let it wash over your weary bones, goodness will prevail! You can confidently place your trust in the promise of peace on earth, and good will to men.
In the ever changing world we live in, there is an anchor of hope. One that knows us by name. One that intentionally, with love, knit together our souls.
One that is extending a hand with the promise; I am here. You are not alone.
There is hope for today, and for tomorrow.
Will you breathe it in?