“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.”Psalm 119:114Hope - often our hope is like an illusive butterfly flitting just out of reach. Just when we think we've caught it, the flighty creature sees a particularly hard looking circumstance and flutters away.
Some of the reason is the definition of the word. Often we tend to look at hope in the meaning of wish.
Wish they would straighten up, wish I had a candy bar, WISH is not hope.
Hope is not a flighty butterfly.
Hope is lead anvil strong, an expectation of a promise to be fulfilled. More than a feeling, hope is a stake in the ground to keep you from running, a shield of protection, and power that even the devil can't destroy.
Romans 8:25
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Romans 15:13
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Hebrews 6:19
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast...
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast...
Our hope is in the name of the Lord. His Word. And it is True, and Worthy.
Hope is tethered to faith. And often the word wait is involved. and that is where the struggle is.
Stand fast in the truth and wait in expectant hope and faith.
Oh I LOVE THIS! I was about to take issue with the flighty little butterfly thingy. You're right; hope and wish are often interchanged, but they just aren't the same.
ReplyDeleteHope is met with assurance, while wishes are met with dreams. A fond wish is something you never expect to happen, but hope is full of expectation, and the faith that carries leaves wishes in the dust.