Hope Is A Verb
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Floyd's condition is holding steady and I have had a good week – I’m thankful for that!
I love the word hope. Even when I hear it spoken it does something in my heart. Something rises up with expectation. It's a beautiful word. In my more normal life, I love wearing a pair of earrings that say "hope" (you can see them above). They remind me of the power of hope. They were made by one of our All Nations ministries that sees God changing lives because of His hope.
The phrase has been echoing in my mind this week - "hope is a verb". Yes, I know it's a noun as well. But I feel the Lord has been impressing upon me to emphasize it being a verb. As a noun, it's a feeling of trust, of expectation, of desire. As a verb, it's wanting that feeling/trust/expectation to actually happen. It goes beyond the feeling to expectation. It's expecting something with confidence. It's desiring with expectation. It's active and alive!
Years ago in Kabul, Afghanistan when we worked with the hippies of that era, a young woman came to the Lord. She was vibrant in her newfound faith. Her face seemed to shine with the joy of the Lord that she had found. She decided she wanted a new name for her new life. She chose the name Hope. I loved it. She had gone from heaviness to beauty in coming to know Jesus. She exemplified "hope".
The use of the word hope in the Bible seems to swing back and forth between the noun and verb side. Sometimes I'm not sure which it is. But I know that I must activate my hope in order to have faith for the things I'm praying for. Biblical hope is expecting what God has promised because He is faithful! I can activate my hope and trust Him. I can remember that hope is a verb and have hope, hope, hope for the impossible by faith because of God's goodness and greatness and faithfulness.
As I am praying for our family, for our friends, for our country - I am hoping, with renewed faith, for God to move and answer prayer. Once we choose hope, anything is possible.
"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence." Psalm 41:5
"The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love." Psalm 33:18
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:1
"Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." Isaiah 49:23b
"Hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption." Psalm 130:7
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord." Jeremiah 17:7
As I meditate on these verses, hope builds in my heart. It comes alive!
On our unexpected journey....and in the times in which we are all living - I activate my hope to trust God for answers to many prayers. Hope is a verb that I want to put to use daily in my life.
A couple days ago, I woke up with a heaviness in my heart. I felt anxious and stressed as well. I could physically feel the weight of all this. There are some practical reasons for what was happening, but it was extreme and I knew I couldn't go through my day feeling this way.
When I wake up each morning, I have a therapeutic hot drink first thing that's part of my daily treatment regimen - and then I have breakfast. By the time I have breakfast it's been about 15 hours since I last ate, and I'm usually so hungry. On the morning when I woke up with this heaviness/stress/anxiety - I knew I couldn't proceed as normal. I simply pushed "normal" aside and started to pray and talk to the Lord about what I was feeling. A friend texted me right then, and I asked her to pray for me too.
For about an hour I prayed, worshipped the Lord, called out to Him, read promises from the Bible......and waited on God to help me. Just as I could physically feel the heaviness when I woke up - I began to physically feel it lifting! It was like a weight being lifted off of me. As I "cast my burdens" on the Lord - I sensed Him taking them from my heart. There was a sweet presence of the Lord that replaced the burdens.....an awareness of His love and care for me and for our family. It stayed with me all through the day - on what ended up to be a wonderful day! In fact, all through that day and the following day I felt like God was "filling my cup" to overflowing with the sweetness and grace of His presence.
I read an article recently stating that the "root of the word persevere is the word severe." You and I are walking through "severe" things. But we are not alone on the journey as we persevere. My "wake up call" experience was a good reminder of how to respond to the heavy things we face......and a reminder of how God will meet us. I know this, of course, but it was like God wanted to add an explanation point right now to show His power to meet me and help me. It was a dramatic demonstration into my life. I can't persevere on my own through the heaviness of all that is happening in my life - but God can meet me and help me. He does this because He is so incredibly faithful!
"Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6,7
"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles." Psalm 34:17
"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4
Casting our burdens, our cares, the weights we are carrying onto the Lord isn't just a nice spiritual phrase. It's a very real thing we can do - and God meets us in a very real way. He showed me that again in my recent experience. I am so grateful!