Hope: Finding the Light

Hope is one of those intangibles. It’s something we cannot live without but at the same time we can’t put our finger on it. It’s not really a feeling, but it’s not entirely a decision or act of will either. It exists somewhere in the middle. Somewhere in the human fiber that is both essential, but yet indefinable. We have all heard of the stories of people in extreme circumstances that have died when their expectation for rescue had been taken away, or of the person who passed away, not for any medical reason, but from a broken heart. I think hope is at the center of this. It beats within our heart like a living thing, ingrained in the very muscles and nerves of our physical body. It drives us, it moves us, it makes us, us. It exists at the center of who we are, around which the rest of us revolves like planets around the sun. It is the cornerstone of our personal universe, and as such, tells us much about ourselves and the human condition.

      Because so much of our personal happiness and self satisfaction springs from where our hope is grounded, it would follow that to put our hope into something temporary would be foolish and almost unimaginable for intelligent and rational creatures such as ourselves. But, this is exactly where we find ourselves a lot of the time; hoping in our money, our house, our education, our talents, or even our football team. In the back of our minds, I think we all have an awareness of how ridiculous this is. To cement such an important thing like hope on objects that shifts and slides is borderline insane, yet here we are living for our paycheck, or our success, or our new clothes; or whatever else we think will make us happy. You fill in the blank, you know what it is for you.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon talks about how everything is meaningless without God and that it is like the wind, fleeting, and always just beyond our grasp. We can chase after the wind that we can never catch, or we can turn down a different path and see that what we have been searching for and seeking after rather is light, our flashlight, our ultimate hope. I took the wind to be the world and so many times when I have chased after the things of this world, I have been let down and left in the dark. But then when I chased after the light (God), I found and am finding that my life is so much better and less chaotic. Rather than chasing after the wind we need to begin to chase after the light. For when you do you will see that life simply becomes easier and that you are filled with a greater hope because rather than relying on your own success you are finding your fulfillment in a right relationship with God. You have a choice. God is coming in your direction and it’s your choice to accept Him or not.

To be wanted, to belong, and to be accepted are all things that I think that we seek after in this world. Here is the thing that I most often forget, and that is God doesn't need me, but He wants me. I find such great hope that I am accepted, beloved, and wanted by a God who, despite my failures, still loves me. It’s with the transformational power of God we can see what He has done through love not just for me but for the entire world. We are seen as valuable to Him no matter what we may be doing now, what we have done, or what we will do. God’s grace is that good that we have already been forgiven. Here is the kicker, there is nothing that I can do on my own that will change me because I am a sinner and fail. However, if I am fully dependent on Jesus to change me then I am transformed to the likeness of Him. So why not accept God who is always loving, holy, fair, kind, good, and pure? Why not accept the God who has already accepted you and is chasing after you despite all your faults? Why not accept the God who is the hope, the eternal salvation, and the light of the world?

 “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:4-5). When it says “the darkness has not understood it” this means that the darkness of evil never has and never will overcome or extinguish God’s light. When we follow Jesus, the true Light, we can avoid walking blindly and fall into darkness because He removes the darkness from our lives! What greater hope can we have in this life than that fact that darkness will never extinguish God’s light, the light inside of us? When we choose God we are choosing love, we are choosing to have hope in our lives. "Believing in God is as much like falling in love as it is making a decision. Love is both something that happens to you and something you decide upon" (Donald Miller). It’s a decision and a choice to accept all that God has to offer and when we do, He is filled with so much joy for He now has a new son or daughter in His family. He welcomes you with open arms and says, “Welcome home, you once were lost but now you have been found!” (reference to Luke 15:20 and 24).