That sense of eager expectation. Anticipation.
It involves vulnerability.
Only those who hope can be disappointed.
Through all these months of medical ups and downs this purveyor of hope has been challenged. One disappointment and delay after another. There have been times when it felt like too much work, too much risk, too much potential pain...to dare hope again.
Cynicism is such excellent armour against disappointment. Funny and witty! Sophisticated, even. But in the alone times it's a soul desert devoid of real joy.
Between the proverbial rock and the hard place. To live without hope is to suffocate, but to hope again might be...will be, at times...costly.
There really is nothing new under the sun and 3,500 years ago there was a group of people who had endured slavery for many years, enough generations to have hope bred right out of them. Along came Moses who told them that God says he's going to set you free! Yeah, right. They refused to listen. "They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery." Who can blame them?
The good news? The state of their emotions didn't change the nature of the One who promised or the power of the promise.
Actually, things got worse before they got better for those ancient people. It's often that way. Still the power of the promise was not lessened. Its fulfillment only nearer.
The only difference between those who dared to hope and those who didn't was the joy they had in the waiting.
Selah. Pause and think on that.
Two weeks post surgery and I'm definitely feeling better. Dare I hope? I don't have the pathology report yet. What if...?
What if, indeed. I have a Papa who knows the contents of that report before it is even written. Not one iota of it will be a surprise to Him. And He is faithful. He will never leave me or forsake me. He delights in every detail of my life. His plans for me are good.
Pondering all of that goodness fuels hope.
Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy,
fill you up with peace,
so that your believing lives,
filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit,
will brim over with hope!
Romans 15:13 MSG
this morning I thought about you and wondered about the pathology
ReplyDeleteReport. you are right of course that God knows and you are cradled in His warm embrace. I don't know if it helps or not but I'm with you in the anticipation and anxiety that hope sometimes brings.
I also wondered if y'all were in the loop in regards to Charity?
I love you
E