To hope in God is more than a wish. It is a longing and an expectation. It is this hope that sustains us through darkness. How do we live as prisoners of hope?
When I was a young girl, I hoped I would grow up to be a fabulous journalist. Later, as a teen, I began to see and understand the darkness of addiction that had insidiously invaded our family. Then I began to hope and pray for a Godly husband with whom to build a strong, enduring family of faith. Was I hoping or wishing…or both?
Wishing
Hope: to cherish a desire with anticipation; to want something to happen or be true…at least that is how Merriam-Webster defines it. This somewhat sterile definition sounds more like wishing to me. An online dictionary pared it down a bit more: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. But perhaps that’s how we use it today: “I hope it doesn’t rain; I hope we can get together soon; I hope you like this new recipe I tried for dinner.”
Hope has become a word we throw around like the word ‘love’ and several other words in our language; the meaning has been blurred, but we continue to use them. I can ‘want something to be true’ or ‘cherish a desire with anticipation’ all day long, but if that’s all I’ve got…well, as Paul said, then I am of all people most to be pitied (I Cor. 15:19 NIV).
Longing
When I hear the word hope my mind turns to deep longing; a blossom in the soul that is waiting to unfurl.
I found it interesting while researching meanings for hope online that after two definitions, every single entry afterward was about Christian hope.
Now, why would that be??
The answer might be found in a 1986 sermon by John Piper: “Biblical hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.” There is no wishing here, no uncertainty in our hope. Piper said, “Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future; it expects it to happen. And it not only expects it to happen; it is confident that it will happen.”
Do you have that kind of hope? A certainty and confident expectation that God intends only good for you and your future?
Expecting
Sometimes, as the Psalmist urged, and Piper reminded, we must tap ourselves on the shoulder. We must say to ourselves in the mirror on those difficult mornings or those dark evenings when the clouds of doubt or the trials and suffering threaten to overcome us:
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.Psalm 42:5, NKJV
HOPE IN GOD! Sometimes, I want to tattoo that message on my forearm or over my heart so that I see it as a daily reminder that hope in God is the anchor of my soul. Beth Guckenburger said in her book, Start With Amen, “Hope keeps a medical diagnosis or wayward child from taking us under. It’s the best weapon we have on any given day. It says, “I don’t care how it looks or what I feel. I know this story isn’t over. I know Jesus sits on the throne…””
Besides Jesus, what better example than David do we have of someone who has placed utmost hope in God? Throughout his days we witness him praising in prosperous times and heart wrenching, sorrowful times. David dances with gladness before the Lord and falls before Him in repentance after he sins with shocking abandon. David portrays confident hope in Adonai, the LORD of lords Who is filled with compassion.
I love how Acts 2:25-26 reframes a Psalm by David in The Message:
I saw God before me for all time.
Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side.
I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic;
I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope.
Prisoners
Dear sisters, may we pitch our tents in the land of hope. Yes, may we even be ‘prisoners of hope,’ as Zechariah said in his missive. While we have been, and may at this moment be prisoners of many things, let us covenant to be only His prisoners, prisoners of righteousness and hope. Our Lord is faithful and true; He is worthy of our hope.
Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.
Zechariah 9:12, NKJV
While we have been, and may at this moment be prisoners of many things, let us covenant to be only His prisoners, prisoners of righteousness and hope. Click To Tweet
This watercolor, painted by Rachael Smith, is available as a digital download in the Oh Lord Help Us Shop.