What’s the difference between hoping for something and hoping in the Lord?
We hope for good weather, because the forecast is not 100% reliable. We hope for a successful interview, because the outcome is uncertain. We hope for a prosperous 2025, because the future is not entirely in our control.
Hoping for something to happen is an earthbound, instinctively human, and moderately fulfilling way to hope. Sometimes it fulfills us. Sometimes it disappoints us.
Hoping for something can keep us intentional, engaged and pursuing good, healthy goals. It’s not a bad thing. But it is limited. It may or may not reward our hope with an outcome that is good.
However, hoping in the Lord is much better hope. It is 100% reliable. The outcome is certain. The future is positive and never disappoints this kind of hope.
Hoping in the Lord breaks through our own barriers of limited understanding and boundaries of limited capabilities. Because the power is not our hope, but the Lord. The certainty is not us, but his promises.
This is what our Lord God promises, “I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isaiah 49:23).
With all that in mind, here’s a helpful acronym I am using to clarify and renew my own hopes:
Holy
Optimism of
Promised
Expectations
PRAYER: Teach me, Lord, that HOPE means Holy Optimism of Promised Expectations, that when I hope in you it is better than hoping for anything else. Fulfill my hopes and dreams according to your holy will, and adjust my desires that they bend toward your clear promises for the future. Amen.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Write it down. Memorize it. Share it. Make it go viral.
Holy
Optimism of
Promised
Expectations
