Hope Anchors

I often say that I hope this happens or that happens. Sometimes I get corrected. "Don't you mean you'll pray about it" or some other correction. People want to call my faith into question when I say "I hope". That is wrong thinking. To have hope is to have faith. I hope because I have faith. Hope is part of my faith. Hope anchors my faith.

We have this hope as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19a NIV

What is hope? How does it anchor our soul?

For me, hope bubbles up from my faith that God is good, that God knows best, that God has everything under control and that He loves me and desires all good for me. In fact, He works all things for the good of those who love Him. Sometimes good has to be worked through. To get good, we have to strain and struggle. The butterfly won't fly if it doesn't work to get out of the cocoon as nature intended - I mean chrysalis, not cocoon. A toddler doesn't learn to walk unless allowed to, which also means allowed to fall.

Hope reflects my belief that God is trustworthy and that God knows everything. It also reflects that I don't know the whole story. When I hope something happens I only hope it happens if it is the best thing, the thing that God wants to happen. If someone being healed keeps them from becoming a Christ follower, then it is better that they not be healed. Does that seem hard? Yes, but if I trust God, if I truly believe in His promises, both the easy ones and the hard ones, I have to believe He will work to bring that person to Christ in His way of doing it.

My hope anchors my faith to God's goodness, not to my plans but to His. Hope anchors my faith when "bad" things happen because I know that God is all-powerful and all-knowing and is in full control of any and every situation. Satan has to go through God to be allowed to anything. I believe this so my hope is to remember it when I am hurting or my loved ones are hurting. God allowed this whatever to happen for His good purposes. It could be to teach me something, to build me up in some way, to grow my dependence upon Him, to bring Himself glory.

Hope anchors me to God's goodness. When I say I hope, I am applying God's goodness to the situation. I may also pray for that which is oftentimes necessary. But even if I don't, God is still good. His goodness isn't dependent upon my prayer life.....thank God.

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