“And hope maketh not ashamed …” (Romans 5:5)
Looking forward to something special ahead can keep us going in a less than pleasant here and now. Children count the days to their birthday or Christmas. Adults daydream about getting away on that longed for vacation. And while sometimes, things do turn out to be just as we built them up to be; at other times, they fall well below our expectations.
Hope can keep us afloat; but what happens when we have no prospects on the horizon; or, our best laid plans lay an egg? There are no sure-bets in this life. Dreams meet with disappointment. High hopes are dashed by unforeseen events. And as we are told in scripture: we become heartsick when what we prayed and planned for doesn’t materialize. “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life” (Prov. 13:12).
Does this mean we should give up on hope? Should we never dream of brighter days ahead? No. But where should our hope lie? “And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee” (Ps. 39:7). To hope in God is to expect that what He has in store for us will never be less than what we have asked for or thought of; it will always be far, far greater! (Eph. 3:20) God loves to give good gifts to His children, and is busy preparing for them mind-blowing blessings. “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him” (Isa. 64:4).
Today may be a dark and dreary day. We may long for a change of scenery. Anything to lift our spirits. But the Lord would have us rejoice in Him always. Good things will come; but a good God is always at hand. He would give us fullness of joy in His presence. And when we learn how to give thanks always for everything, carrying a song in our heart even through the longest night, surely the Lord will be busy preparing for us gifts sweeter than any we could ever imagine.