Thrill of Hope?
Is this how you view hope? A thrill?
Or do you view hope as?
A grasping for something when you are all out of ideas?
A place to land when all else fails?
A word that brings comfort in a desperate situation?
A strategy for the less intelligent, the Pollyannas of the universe?
Thrill: Piercing and penetrating (Webster?s 1828)
Hope: A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. (Webster?s 1828)
The thrill of hope, a piercing penetrating desire and expectation of an obtainable good.
I?ve been so struck by this phrase from a popular Christmas Carol, O Holy Night:
Long lay the world in sin and error pining till he appear’d, and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
So what is the thrill of hope? Do I feel that thrill of hope, a piercing penetrating desire and expectation of an obtainable good?
Those are three very powerful words to me this year. My mom (read best friend) has been handed a terminal diagnosis. As we walk this path, we long to bring joy and encouragement, but to do that we must have hope. True Hope. It is He to which we must cling!
Hope, True Hope, can only be found in one place and one place only, Jesus.
Jesus?
- Member of the trinity
- The creator
- A baby in a manger
- A 12 year old bafflingly wise preacher
- A miracle worker
- Lover of the sick, the disenfranchised, the blue collar workers, the lost, the rejected
- The man on the cross
- The one who left behind the burial clothes in a now and forever empty tomb
- The ascended
- The promised one who will return
- The God man
Jesus, my savior, my king, my LORD. The only true hope that was birthed into a world filled with sin, pining for redemption.
And in a weary state, there was rejoicing! Why? Because there was a new morning coming.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ?The LORD is my portion,? says my soul, ?therefore I will hope in him.? -Lamentations 3:22-24
Whatever you faced yesterday, today or tomorrow, you have hope, and His name is Jesus!
Look for Him, seek Him?First. He is the answer the only answer!
Read Lamentations chapter 3. Lamenting means to mourn, grieve, weep, to wail (Lamentations, Not a happy book, and yet the very book that declares Hope, True Hope).
What are you facing as this year closes? What lies ahead in 2015 for you? Where or in whom do you place your hope? How can you direct your path, your heart, your mind to hope not in your abilities, your 401k, your job, your education, but in the one and only True Hope?
How can Jesus be your True Hope in the best of times and the worst of times?
He never changes. His grace, mercy and love is steadfast in all circumstances.