The hope

A listener to my radio program 'Messages of Faith and Hope', TransMundial Radio, asked me to define the word hope. I replied that it was a state of mind through which we assumed as possible what we wanted or needed. Since the Bible teaches that faith is the certainty of what is hoped for, the conviction of what is not seen (Hebrews 11: 1), it seems that faith and hope always go hand in hand.

A few words of Jesus confirm it: Have faith in God. For truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain: Get away and cast yourself into the sea, and will not doubt in his heart, but will believe that what he says will be done, what he says will be done to him (Mark 11: 22-23) . We cannot take these words literally and believe that we are going to destroy mountains just by wishing and saying so, as some claim. But there is tremendous force in believing what we want or need to happen is possible. Jesus also said: And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive (Matthew 21:22).

I also imagine that some of my readers have made requests that they have never received. I have that same experience. We are not the owners of the Universe, nor is it our will that must be done both in heaven and on earth. Nor do we have enough wisdom to ask God for what is really good for us. That is why we believe in His sovereignty and omniscience, trusting that He knows what He does when He denies us something.

However, hope can help us achieve our dreams. It does so in the sense that without trying, we work and we create the conditions for it to happen. In doing so, we create favorable circumstances and our mind is alert not to miss the possibilities and opportunities. A favorable state of mind is essential for the achievement of our objectives.

When we ask for God's help and trust in his infinite power, our attitudes promote actions that make the desired happen. Years ago a song was fashionable that said: I have faith that everything will pass, that illusion will triumph again and I confess that listening to it helped me a lot.

To have hope is to believe that better times will come, or to know that the sun will rise tomorrow anyway and fill our day with light. It is hoping for the best in life whatever happens, because we are aware that God never abandons us and has a blessing purpose, even though sometimes his plan is not clear before our eyes. That is to say like Job: Listen to me, and I will speak, and what comes later may come to me… Behold, even if he kills me, I will hope in him; nevertheless, I will defend my ways before him, and he himself will be my salvation (Job 13: 13-16).

To have hope is to know that even when everything is missing, fails us or even the worst happens, God will be in us. And your presence will be enough for us!

God bless you!