Where is your hope?

One of the definitions that dictionary.com gives for the word hope is “a person or thing in which expectations are centered.” If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that you can inadvertently put your hope in the wrong thing. I think this is a common occurrence; it is certainly something that I struggle with from time to time in my life.

Let me give an example: I’ve gotten so swept up in the success that the Denver Broncos are having that I’ve had visions of Denver going all the way to the Super Bowl and winning. But what happens if they don’t? What happens if the defense is not strong enough to win a championship (particularly now that Von Miller is out for the rest of the year)? It’s easy for fans to put their hope in success for an NFL team, but that is much too unpredictable a source.

At this time of year, I think it’s easy to put your hope in the fact that you will get the perfect Christmas gift. But it may result in disappointment. You’ve asked for the hottest new trend or gadget, but instead you may get something that is a complete disappointment and it will ruin your Christmas, that is, if you have put your hope in that. Christmas gifts are great, but this is not where one should put their hope, either. They should only be the cherry on top, as it were.

As a single man, I naturally gravitate toward putting all my hope in the fact that one day I will get married. So I have another Christmas without a wife this year, what does that do to me emotionally? It does a lot if I’ve inadvertently put my hope exclusively in having a spouse. To be sure, a husband or a wife is a gift from God, but a finite human being cannot be your source of hope. The reason for this is because a spouse, no matter how wonderful, is not perfect and will let you down from time to time.

So where, then, should we put our hope? Most of you can see where I’m going with this, can’t you? The Bible gives us the answer in Psalm 42. The Psalmist is pouring out his angst to God. Perhaps he too put his hope where it shouldn’t be. But then in verse 5, we read, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Where should we put our hope? We should put our hope in the God of the universe. Anyone or anything else is completely inadequate.

Kevin