Hope itself is defined as a feeling of trust or an expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. So often we move through this life with expectations of our own making. We expect to be the best, to make the most, to buy the greatest, to achieve the highest, to work the least, to be handed all that we desire. We have expectations that we think should be met by the world, people, even God Himself. We say I want and we expect to be given it and hope that it is done quickly. We have a situation that we expect to turn out a particular way and we hope that it is fulfilled.
If you ask me, hope and expectation do not go hand-in-hand, but rather, in fact are polar opposites. When we place our hope, or our trust in something greater, we can have no expectations of our own on how to get there or how to make it happen. Hope is a divine thing, a gift from God. We do not have to worry or expect anything, because He has our best interest at heart.
Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord, I pray! Let us see that Your hope is all that we need. Let us trust in You and Your plans. Let us feel Your presence and safety in You. Let us relinquish all of our expectations and place all of our hope in You, Lord!
The world is a scary place these days with shootings and bomb threats, abductions and thefts. The world can seem hopeless and dark. But standing there, in that space last night, surrounded by volunteers and donors, I saw hope. Radiant, life-giving, hope. The kind of hope that says, "I trust in a brighter future." The kind of hope that says, "I trust that there is still goodness in the world." The kind of hope that says, "we trust in the plans laid out for us, that we will be prospered and have a future."
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11
In all of the darkness of our decaying and dying world, there is still hope. Through every broken crack in the heart of society, there lays a place for the light of goodness to shine through, a place for hope to penetrate. We can focus on the bad and scary things that fill our days, or we can choose to focus our eyes on the goodness and the mercy, grace and hope that comes from the Lord.
Hope is called "an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast." Hebrews 6:19 So how then, do we tap into this hope? Jesus! We build our hopes of the world in Him. When we put our hope in humanity, we will always be utterly disappointed, but God NEVER fails us. He prompts us to put our hope in Him for a better world, for a future. Only by trusting Him, having hope in Him, can we have eternal life and the things and worries and heartaches of this life become transient. The dissipate into nothingness until all of our hope is in the eternal promises of life.
It is our responsibility to plant these seeds of hope, to help fulfil the desire of something more, to help people overcome the desperation that this world feeds into.
Each year at the Voices for Hope banquet, each attendee is gifted some form of "Seeds of HOPE" to take home. This year, sunflower seeds were gifted. The intention is that each person would take the seeds, a physical reminder, plant them and watch them grow. As with the seeds, we too plant seeds of hope into the world and in the hearts of others. Then we get to watch the fruits of those seeds, grow and prosper and hopefully, multiply.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
Life is imperfect, the world is imperfect, but God is perfect and His plans are perfect! DO NOT LOSE HOPE. Do not let our dismal world dampen your light, do not lose the flavor of your salt. Abound in love, trust in the Lord, filled with joy and peace, shining out as a beacon of light into all the world, planting seeds of hope.
If you would like more information about the services provided by, or to donate or volunteer for H.O.P.E., please visit http://hopeforcancerfamilies.org H.O.P.E. is currently seeking donations to finance a long time dream of the H.O.P.E. Retreat, a Vacation From Cancer, right here in York County.
(The original "Dream" of the H.O.P.E. Retreat)
