In a recent post, I referenced a verse from the Old Testament in which a woman pleads "Don't raise my hopes" (2 Kings 4:28). It got me thinking more about the concept of "Hope".
The definition that I like most for "Hope", as a noun, is "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best"*. Based on that definition, I hate to admit it, but I don't think that I have a lot of Hope. I guess it's just really hard to have that "feeling...that events will turn out for the best" when experience has shown me otherwise...not once, not twice, but three times.
The definition that I like most for "Hope", as a noun, is "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best"*. Based on that definition, I hate to admit it, but I don't think that I have a lot of Hope. I guess it's just really hard to have that "feeling...that events will turn out for the best" when experience has shown me otherwise...not once, not twice, but three times.
But this doesn't mean that I label myself as "hope-less". Rather, I am trying to become more "faith-ful". In contrast, the definitions for "Faith" are "confidence or trust in a person or thing"* or "belief that is not based on proof"*. Now those definitions fit my experience! My "confidence" and "trust" are in God, and the "belief" that I have sure isn't "based on proof". It's so hard to say with total confidence that I will carry a baby to full term. But I can say with undeniable faith that I trust that God has something amazing planned for my life.
So that's where I stand at the moment--waffling between my levels of Hope and Faith. I've come to this conclusion: In the absence of concrete Hope, only Faith remains.
Today's blessing occurred while we were working on the yard (yet again). As we were getting to the end of our energy levels from moving rocks all day, a guy drove by and stopped and asked if we needed any dirtwork completed. Um, yeah! We have a whole acre of natural desert...and weeds. We moved in two years ago, and have been waiting for the right opportunity to move some of the dirt and make more of a defined "yard". This guy has done work for some of our neighbors, and actually has his equipment in our neighborhood all week, so he would be able to do the work at a discounted rate. We still aren't financially ready to do all that we want to do, but this dirtwork will definitely be a great start, so his offer really is a blessing.
* definitions according to dictionary.com
A quote from one of my favorite movies:
ReplyDeleteJust give hope a chance to float up. And it will.