“We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

The weight of the last week has been a heavy burden. Every thought entering like lightening, leaving scorch marks on my soul. Yet there has been a numbness that consumed me. An unexpected after effect. Some say that it is the peace that transcends all understanding, as God brings comfort in the storm. I wonder how many of us feel that amity overtake our spirit when everything rages around us?

There is so much in this life that we have to navigate. When change rushes us and the seasons change, we are forced to choose to see the hope and potential each change offers, or sit in the mud and wallow over what we ultimately cannot control. I have chosen to recognize and fortify my hope. As it rises up inside of me, the anxiety, worry and uncertainty have fallen away. All that remains is the peace of knowing that hope is better than sorrow and there is so much more to come.

There are countless people who have experienced loneliness, disappointment, loss, and so much more, yet they have an abundant supply of hope. They make a daily decision to not live in the past, in the brokenness and in the sorrow. Hope, by definition, is the desire for a certain thing to happen, an expectation of fruition. The archaic definition; a feeling of trust. It is infinite.

A powerful tool to be used in an arsenal of weaponry God has provided us. How little we value and embrace this gift, like so many others we are offered. The world labels it as a weakness, and mocks those who seek it and share it with others. It is often seen as a sign of naivety or immaturity, a wish to be fulfilled by an entity with limited power and without want to fulfill it. Yet is none of these things. It is a trust. A trust that the hope of our hearts rises and spreads like wildfire to all who need just a little extra to continue moving within the monotony and trials of this life.

Aristotle was a scholar of formal logic. He is quoted saying, “Hope is a waking dream.”. As beautiful as it looks and sounds, he likely did not mean it the way it is so often used today. It is more believable to consider he was mocking the very idea of hoping for something, anything, without actively bringing it into reality ourselves. The comparison to a dream establishing the senselessness of the idea.

The idea that our hope is dependent on our own ability to call into existence that which we desire, is a deception from the enemy. Without hope, despair grows, and it doesn’t just grow, it permeates our souls and pushes us away from, and out of, joy. Taking something that cannot be controlled and trying to control it, will bring anyone to the brink of insanity. It will feed frustration and depression.

Wisdom comes from understanding that hopelessness is generated from a lack of trust. Without trusting that God has a plan, even when we can’t and don’t see it, we conform ourselves to the world, and our position in it. We relinquish the ideal conclusions set forth by our Creator and reject our true purpose here. As with any cause, the effect is reflected in what is left behind.

My heart isn’t as heavy as it was, and my hope isn’t lost. I know that as long as I can remain seeking the light of wisdom, and trust in Him and what He has promised, I will find my way. Hope will remain and I will be exactly where I am meant to be. This life was never promised to be easy, but embracing the desires of your heart, when they align with His heart for you, will lead to destinations that seemed impossible. You will flourish, and the light that emits from you will guide others down the path they so desperately wish to take.

” I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,”, Ephesians 1:18