"I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. " (Isaiah 8:17) Dear Crosswind:
We've all probably heard from motivational speakers who talk about having a positive attitude or the benefits of being optimistic. In these troubled times, a lot of people look for reasons for optimism. They react positively to news of the COVID vaccine nearing its final stages of development, or a possibility that a stimulus bill will finally pass. We see that in the way the stock market behaves and reacts to this kind of news. After all, this is an indicator of hope that the end of the pandemic is on sight and the economy will get a much needed boost. This is where the world today places its HOPE. Hope according to the world means anticipating something positive that is coming soon. Hope has become synonymous to optimism. You'll hear people say "I hope to see the world go back to normal". Or "I can't wait to be able to travel on vacations again once this pandemic is over". Hope as defined by the world is backed up by some betterment of the present situation or circumstance. It is a choice to see how circumstances can turn for the better even in difficult times. One Biblical word for hope in the Hebrew, "Qavah" is not an anticipation of a future coming positive turn of events or a dream being realized. Hope or "Qavah" is choosing to wait even though there is no evidence that things will get better. Qavah hope is not even necessarily founded on a promise. It is rather looking forward to the future by looking backward to God's past faithfulness. God's character and nothing else is the motivation for Biblical hope. This is the case in Isaiah's words: ""I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. " (Isaiah 8:17). Those were difficult times in the history of Israel and there were no signs that things would get better as God was "hiding His face" from the nation, and yet he said "I will hope in Him." That is the essence of Biblical hope, we wait on nothing less than God. Biblical hope does not depend on things that are seen but is founded on faith that is the evidence of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1). It is not an anticipation of something good but rather the assurance of the unchanging goodness of God at all times. That is the same hope that we have as New Testament believers for our future because we look back to what God has done for us through Jesus. We look forward and hope for the coming reign of Jesus on the earth because we look back to His resurrection which made it possible for us to join Him in glory someday. Our hope is in a Person, it is God and His character that fuels our hope. We may live in uncertain times in the world and yet we hope in God not because of a coming vaccine, the administration that will be inaugurated on January 20, nor because of the economy getting better, etc. We hope because of God's faithfulness in any circumstance. We wait on Him, and knowing that our unchanging faithful God holds our future is more than enough. God richly bless you, beloved of the Lord. Pastor Ramon
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