Lying Hope

Mysteriously, hope is a thing that either we wrestle with, or that we let slip away. We are either praying to God that things get easier and we can stop all this clamoring to get what we need- what we hope for; or we are settle in for the journey and let ourselves lie with hope. This might mean that we are lying to ourselves that we really are hopeful when in fact we are actually hating every second of our plight, or we may actually be resting in hope and letting it guide us.

Hope sits with us through many things in life. We hope we get asked to the dance by the guy we like. We hope we will fit into our favorite jeans. We hope our friends will be faithful through our trials. We hope we don't get sick. We hope we find a job we love that pays us well and that we enjoy. We hope that when our finances faulter we will have the ability to bounce back. It seems our "hope list" lengthens with every breath we take. Like wrestling with a fish, it seems hope can often wiggle its way into worry. Living with hope transforms us into trusting ourselves, trusting our God, and trusting those we love.

We live in a world full of failure, disappointment, lost causes, and defeat. We love gossip and to hear when another person is down- simply to lift us up, and to give us hope that we are not alone.

Hope. How we handle hope is how we handle everything. Are you willing to believe that things can be different? Will you trust that when you decide to change, you have the power to do it? Can you act in faith that you have a story that matters and that what you do with your hope can impact not only the positive outcome of your life, but of the lives around you? What do you believe? Who do you or can you trust? Don't just lie down to resignation and fear. REST in hope by lying with it for awhile and living in trust.