Hope

What each of us hope for, at any given time, can be as different as night and day.  What do you hope for most?  Some would answer “world peace”.  Others may hope to land that well-deserved raise or offered a better paying job.  Some of us hope that we just get through our day, especially when we are suffering in mind, body or spirit.  I imagine, even despite our faith, there are times when each of us have lost hope.

 That’s the time (maybe the hardest time) that we need to lay everything at the feet of Jesus, the one that hung on the cross for us.  Hope is not about receiving our physical desires or even an answer to our deepest longings.  Hope, for me, goes deep, way down deep inside – my very soul. 

Close your eyes and picture Jesus walking only with you down a country road.  It’s quiet, with no vehicles or other distractions.  The trees are in bloom, along with the hundreds of brightly colored field flowers scattered along the dirt roadway.   You don’t know what your destination is, but you continue to walk along side of Him.  Slowly, Jesus turns to you and takes your hand.  Locking eyes with you, He speaks quietly, like a warm, gentle breeze.  Your heart starts burning deep within.   Speaking your name, He says,  “I know all your hopes and desires, my child.  I hear your prayers when life doesn’t always turn out the way you want or expected.  I have so many plans and hope for your future.  But that hope can only come when you walk with me and trust in my plan.  Hoping in the things of this world will bring you emptiness.  Choosing to walk with me, even through the storms, will help you grow from deep within, which pleases me greatly.”  Then suddenly He disappears, and you’re left on that quiet road to contemplate this amazing experience of walking beside your Lord and Savior.  Where is your hope now?  What will you and I do differently going forward?  I know that I need to do a better job at bringing all my needs and decisions before Him in prayer but also be willing to accept what challenges He puts before me.  If I honor Jesus by allowing him to be my true hope, then I know there are changes I need to make.   In your prayer time this week, take time to listen to what Jesus hopes are for you.  You are capable of amazing things, and He made you solely for His purpose.  Let us not waste any more time!

“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.  Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him and he disappeared from their sight.  They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road…?’”  Luke 24:30-32