Yesterday friends and I were talking about hope.
There is a fragile sort that is more like a wish. We wish our lives looked differently. We wish relationships were stronger. We wish our work found success. And when those things don’t happen, we wonder if hope was a mistake.
But there is another kind.
“We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.” Psalm 33:20-22 (NIV)
That is a hope with a direction and focus. Hoping for someone else to change may lead to disappointment. Hoping for outcomes that look exactly the way we want may bring frustration. But placing solid, powerful trust in the truth that God is good, and will never stop loving us…that is a longing that never lets us down. Then we can watch Him bring grace into our lives, and be open to His answers looking different than we expect. Perhaps what we choose to dream for even begins to change.
(Lord, I admit I look for solutions in other places, often forgetting Your purposes. I expect others to swoop in and solve problems. Or I keep hoping I’ll be wise enough and strong enough on my own to beat every obstacle. But I need You. Today I lay my needs at Your feet, with joyful trust that You love me. Whatever unfolds, however the picture looks different from my wishes, I trust in Your goodness. Amen.)
Have you felt the pain of dashed hopes? What helps you at those times? Please feel free to share thoughts in the comments. Your thoughts may be just the encouragement someone else needs today.
Blessings!
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Thank you so much for sharing this. I love your devotionals. 🙂
Beth
Thanks for being you!!!!! Fellowship time gave me lots to ponder…and strengthened my spirit.
I find myself right now in a place of not knowing where God is leading me. I feel a little lost and have been rethinking my purpose. God is so good, though. All along I keep feeling him tell me that something good is coming. This keeps getting reinforced from a variety of sources. I don’t know what the future wull bring, but I can trust His Word and know it will be good.
Thanks so much for sharing that, Brooke. I get VERY uncomfortable with uncertainty…and those places of waiting for Him to unveil the next part of the path. I think of that verse about His Word being a light to our path…and sometimes it only illuminates the next step. I’d rather see it ALL. LOL!
I also appreciate wise words I was once told, that when I’m not sure of God’s direction, to keep doing the things I KNOW He wants me doing (loving those around me, praising Him, etc.) until I have more specifics. 🙂 Don’t you wish He’d just paint neon messages across the sky for us? But while we wait, we continue to get to know Him better. BLESSINGS!
Absolutely! ! I have wished for a neon sign so many times, lol.