Hope Springs

Spouse got a little hope ornament from a friend when he was going through a hard time of illness. Since I love the word hope, and think of it especially when entering a new year, I decided to move "hope" from his office to my kitchen window. And, I decided to do some research on the word. The usual definitions appeared: "a feeling of expectation or desire for a certain thing to happen" or, "grounds for believing that something good may happen." But imagine my surprise at finding that this dictionary termed archaic the definition "a feeling of trust." To me, that's what it's all about. Trust, or faith––in Someone, of course.

Somewhere else I read, "Hope is often the result of faith, in that while hope is an emotion, faith carries a divinely inspired and informed form of positive belief. Hope is typically contrasted with despair [see photo of hope visiting despair], but despair may also refer to a crisis of faith. Hence, when used in a religious context, hope carries a connotation of being aware of spiritual truth."

Personally I can't imagine life without hope. In my mind, all hope is really spiritual,  for God is the one who controls the results of hope.  And God puts hope into our hearts by faith. I have known times of despair, and I know it doesn't honor God, for it shows a lack of trust in what God's plan is for my every moment. But "hope springs eternal" and I cannot despair for long when I am thinking clearly. When I bring hope back into the picture, sun seems to arrive too, just as it will shine through the hope hanging at my window! From Psalm 39:  For now Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You!

 

Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25