Hope
Posted by Annette Burrell, June 18, 2024
“I hope this letter finds you well.” These are the words I read as I looked back through letters from ancestors dating back to the mid-1800s. One letter was so descriptive that I found myself visualizing the scenes in my head as they played out on paper.
This is a paraphrased letter from Joshua Taylor, Jr. to his brother, George, dated October 18, 1849.
“I now take my pen in hand to write a few lines to you hoping they may find you all in good health . . . I want you to try to get William and his family to come along with you. You must bring some garden and grass seeds of different kinds. Bring me a pair of sheep-shears. Bring enough provisions for 6 weeks and put them in lockable boxes. Take your fare from Liverpool to New York. When you get to New York, people will want you to take your passage and pay for it all the way to Milwaukee. But, you must not do it. Always make a new bargain at each place you stop. Always reckon by the cents, and you will not be cheated.”
As I pondered the family history book, I was reminded of the hope the Apostle Paul wrote of in the Bible. Out of his 13 letters, he spoke of hope in each one, and not just once, but multiple times.
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Romans 8:25 (New International Version, aka NIV)
Two Hebrew words for hope in the Bible are Yakhal, which means to wait for; and Qavah, which also means to wait.
Over 40 times in the book of Psalms, we find the word “wait.” In most instances, we see people waiting for God. So, in Biblical Hebrew, hope is about waiting or expectation. Many of the Old Testament prophets point the Israelites to the promised Messiah. They were waiting for Him, the Savior of the world.
“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” Psalm 33:20 (NIV)
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word, I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5 (NIV)
Having hope means I am willing to wait for what I am hoping for.
I hope my children will raise their next generation to be godly. I hope to inspire someone to take a leap of faith in whatever they are striving for. I hope my pastor will come to see his goal of reaching 10% of the people in our county for Christ.
God is our hope. After living from paycheck to paycheck in my young adolescent years, when there was only enough money to put gas in my car, God would send someone to me that would provide food or money for food. After praying for promotion after promotion and being disappointed multiple times, God opened a door for me that catapulted my career into a place I never would have imagined or dreamed. After 20 years of praying for salvation for a family member, God answered. Reports of answered prayers were spoken last night at choir. One praise was, after 131 days in the hospital, the granddaughter, a newborn twin, was sent home and united with her twin sister, mom and dad, and grandparents.
Like me, you may be waiting for God to answer a prayer or prayers you have asked for years. You may be hoping for a promotion at work. You may be hoping for provision to put food on the table for your family. You may be hoping for a loved one to come to know Christ.
God demonstrates time and again that He is our hope, and He hears our prayers. Jesus’ resurrection opened a living hope that people can be reborn into new and different creatures. Christian hope looks back to the risen Jesus so we can look forward. We no longer need to fear our past. We put our hope and trust in the only one who hears our hearts.
Where are you placing your hope? Have you thought about seeking God? If you are at a place where you feel there is no hope, why not give Jesus a try? He is the only hope we have.
Annette Burrell is an author, speaker, and singer/songwriter. Through Annette’s years of being a public servant, and her devotion to studying the Bible, God has equipped her to lead women into His presence, and share with them how they can grow in Christ. Her passion is learning, sharing about the Heavenly realms, and God’s plan of protection for us as believers.