15 September 2015

Touching Hope





So lately, it's been a saga of hope.

After a rough year of learning trust (have you ever had a year focused on that?) and weathering disappointments and discouragements and yet still somehow holding onto the knowledge of God is Faithful...

There was hope.

My sister told me one night that there was one thing she regretted about her years of waiting, and that was that she hadn't cherished them.

Cherished the waiting? Cherished the times where my heart broke over disappointments and I wept for the pain of the silence of God? Cherished the times where I couldn't see for the darkness? How could I cherish that?

I could not accept that challenge of cherishing the waiting, for all I could do was look forward and see that dim light of hope that I could not attain, wishing to be immersed in that light.

What I failed to realize was that hope and trust go hand-in-hand. They are not enemies, but good friends that complement each other perfectly. It is not, "I cannot attain hope and will not attain it for I am learning trust this year," but rather, "I trust that my God is faithful, and I rejoice in the hope of that."

How was I supposed to learn that when I had both of my hands given to Sorrow and Suffering? It seemed impossible and yet with God, nothing is impossible.

Learning hope was not letting go of the hands of Sorrow and Suffering, but rather gripping them firmly and determinedly, eyes locked on the Shepherd of my soul, knowing that every moment of waiting was purposeful and meaningful and that each day was full of sanctification and growth.

Hope is not only a bright feeling you get when you see something worth running for. Hope is seeped in the running. Hope is the planting of seeds, the watering, the sowing, the weeding, the muddy knees and blistered hands and sweaty brow, as well as being the tree bending over with the weight of its fruit. It is both sides of the coin. Hope is something we see in the distance, yet seem to overlook when it is right beside us.

Hope is not looking past the silence of God to the time when He will speak again, but instead it is resting in that silence and flourishing under it, knowing full well that the Gardener is at work within us and that His work is a good work.

See? Trust and hope. You can't separate them. Trust without hope is like knowledge from a dull textbook. Hope without trust is never being satisfied or contented.

And that, that is how we cherish the waiting. In the little things. In the hysterical laughter as I try to learn the slight differences in the varied accent marks as I endeavor to learn Mandarin Chinese. In the bursting of joy when I get a job I applied for, knowing that the lack of hours only means that God has more planned for my life. In waking up early and marveling at how the ruddy orange color trickles through the cracks of the curtains. In tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.

14 comments :

  1. So many times you have read my mind, and I'm currently in the same situation as your sister had been. I'm waiting for something amazing to happen, but it's not going to happen unless I take it into affect right now with school and it's not letting me enjoy what is going in my life right now. I don't know what's waiting on the other side for me, but just as I pray every night, "Thank you for today, and if I undergo any troubles or tribulations, God, please guide me through them. And I ask this all in the Lord's name, amen."

    xoxo Morning

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    1. Mm, yeah. And God is faithful to guide us through all our troubles, even if it's not exactly the way you think or hope that He will! But He is so, so faithful. :-) Keep hoping, girl.

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  2. We can't forget our hope! The noun kind of hope: we have a hope. It seems like, in order to feel hopeful and in order to trust, we should look at that hope, and know it.

    ex. (caps added by me for emphasis)
    Romans 8:17-25
    17 Now if we are children, then WE ARE HEIRS—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
    18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the GLORY that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

    22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our ADOPTION TO SONSHIP,THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES. 24 FOR IN THIS HOPE WE WERE SAVED. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

    In what hope were we saved? What do we not yet have?

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    1. True. I think that I often get lost in the "sharing in his sufferings", the "frustration of creation", the "pains of childbirth", you know? Which is how I lose sight of hope. Yet you are absolutely right. We have a hope and it is brilliant, blinding, awe-inspiring. And that hope is our God, who is not only before us but to our left and our right. Not only do we run toward Him but we run with Him, always "awaiting eagerly" for the day when we might behold Him face-to-face. In this hope we were saved and it is a living hope (from 1 Peter 1), which is so encouraging.

      And so we set our eyes on the things of God and not on the things of man, which moth and rust destroy.

      Good thoughts. Thanks for your comment. :-)

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  3. Whoa. Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoa. *peels herself off the floor* This is amazing, Hannah Joy. I'm still like, having rebounds from how explosive these words are. Okay. Deep breath. (I'm going to try my absolute hardest to keep this brief. Hehe.)

    "Hope is not only a bright feeling you get when you see something worth running for. Hope is seeped in the running. Hope is the planting of seeds, the watering, the sowing, the weeding, the muddy knees and blistered hands and sweaty brow, as well as being the tree bending over with the weight of its fruit." < CAN I JUST FRAME THIS ON MY WALL AND READ IT EVERY SINGLE DAY?? Gosh. (And I hope you didn't just skim over that quote, realizing that I was quoting the post -- go read it again, girl, because you have such an incredible talent with words. omg.)

    I've been thinking so much about trust lately. In fact, this idea of struggling with the wait and the blind light at the end of the tunnel -- it's been following me around all day, through posts on other blogs, words, videos, and now this beautiful post. I think God is trying to fish-slap me and tell me to just sit back and relax and trust. (Like, "How many times do I have to tell you and in how many ways?" And I was actually thinking about exactly what you were saying about "cherishing the waiting..." I think my sister did a podcast sort of about this once, but basically how she put it was, "When we're at point A, we can't wait for point B, but we don't realize that we're already doing what we want to do, we're just at a different stage. It's still the dream, it's just point A of the dream." It was a super good podcast, I'll have to find it and send it to you.

    So much for keeping this brief. xD We'll have to talk more about this later. I'm in great need of some emotional junk food.

    Beautiful post, you beautiful soul!!!
    love,
    abbie ♥

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    1. Woah. XD You seriously rock.

      You could frame it if you want. XD I'm honored you think it's that good. *reads it again just to make you happy* XD

      I love how God says things over and over and it's like, "Coincidence? Nah." Because seriously, suddenly everything seems to be saying something along the same line and you're like, "OKAY GOD I'M LISTENING!" XD I love it when that happens. Woah..... it's still the dream, it's just the point A of the dream. That is profound. I like that a lot.

      And brief comments are overrated. :-)

      Thank you, thank you! <3

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  4. "How was I supposed to learn that when I had both of my hands given to Sorrow and Suffering? It seemed impossible and yet with God, nothing is impossible."

    WAIT is this from Hinds' Feet On High Places?? because that book is my absolute faaaaav.

    also thank you x12938092983019301 for this post. i can't tell you how much this refreshed my soul today. *bookmarks to read again and again when i need this reminder*

    <3<3<3

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    1. YES IT IS A REFERENCE TO HIND'S FEET ON HIGH PLACES! You know it???? I'm reading it right now and I ADORE it. So, so good.

      Thank YOU for reading. All the glory to God, because it's He that works anything in my life. I'm just in awe of it. :-)

      <3

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  5. wow wow wow. this post is filled with so much wisdom. isn't it so interesting how God uses the hard things in our lives...to teach us things, and to show us more about his character?
    this post was so refreshing to my soul, thanks for being used by God!

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    1. Oh my goodness, yes. God is so good, and everything happens for a reason. It's hard to see it in the moment, but we are being sanctified, especially in the hard things. We are becoming more and more like Him--and yes, He is showing us more of His character. That is soooo amazing!
      Thank you for reading! Soli Deo Gloria!

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  6. So............... you're awesome.

    I connected to this post on a spiritual level lol....

    Waiting is hard!

    BUT God is so good, and He has given me so much and I just.... can't.

    Also, is that a freaking wild Hydrangea? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH HYDRANGEAS COST?? THEY'RE LIKE SEVEN BUCKS A STEM, OKAY? YOU HAVE THEM WILD? WHAT IS LIFE.

    But anyway, yeah. Keep your chin up, my dear Giantess.
    Love ya

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    1. So............thanks, but it's all God. :-)

      Waiting is soooo hard. But.....so good. I mean, that's what I'm learning--that the hard things are good because anything that teaches us more about the character of God is good. Really good.

      Like, yeah. Amen.

      WELL actually, first of all, that was taken on vacation. So it was in Vermont. And it was in my grandma's garden. XD So.....sorry to disappoint you. Though that is news to me (that they're expensive). I kind of was nursing the idea of adding them to my ideal wedding bouquet (which has lilacs) but if they're that expensive you never know. O.o XD

      Right back at'cha, my wonderful Shorty.
      Love ya too. <3

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