hope

the word ‘HOPE’ keeps popping out at me, a little bit like a jack-in-the-box surprise…

“all around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel, the monkey thought twas all in fun….HOPE!! goes the weasel.”

ok that was a bit of a dorky stretch, but seriously, it does. it’s in my morning devotionals, in songs i hear on the radio, in inspiring, trendy little wall hangings.

hope.

recently, it’s just always kind of there. maybe that’s God’s way of throwing a word into my face and saying, “here! use this word for the year 2014. learn it. know it. cling to it.”

hope.

have you ever thought about that word? like, really thought about it? take a minute.

generally speaking, it has positive connotations, but if you really think about it, it kind of doesn’t. in fact, here’s an interesting definition of the word hope as it’s used in modern day english and how it’s perceived on a daily basis,

“to wish for, to expect, but without certainty of the fulfillment; to desire very much, but with no real assurance of getting your desire.”

hmmmm, not quite what i’d *hoped* the word hope meant {pun intended}. especially since hope is what my faith in Jesus hinges on. the faith i cling to cannot possibly hang on such a wishy-washy, limp noodle-like thread as the word described above…can it? i had to dig deeper. and the more i discovered, the more i felt the urge to share it with you…maybe you needed to hear about hope today.

real hope.

i don’t know about you, but that first definition left me feeling a bit…yuck.

“without certainty?” “no real assurance?”

why even bother with hope if that’s how much weight it carries? i may as well wish upon a star. was it really as wishy washy as that first definition said? as uncertain as we perceive it on a daily basis? or was hope stronger than that? something you could take to the bank. i needed to know.

we need to know.

i was pleasantly surprised in my rooting around to find that when you break down the word hope in scripture {etymology style} it actually means something more solid than i had ever imagined {brace yourselves, this is pretty awesome},

“an indication of certainty; a strong, and confident expectation.”

it also means,

“to expect or anticipate with pleasure.”

and,

“an absolute. a guarantee. without a doubt.”

dude.

hope just got real.

now, THAT’S what i’m talking about.

that’s the hope i hang my faith on, that i can take to the bank, and that i can cling to.

and guess what? you can to.

hope is REAL for everyone.