This was some stuff going through my head at the same time of my last writing. They seem to kind of go together, for me anyway.
I was looking at my shirt, Hope Never Fails again, and I was thinking about how true that is. Hope never fails because hope never quits, it never gives up. So I was thinking about the difference between hope and optimism and I think it's kinda like this: Optimism is usually based on feeling good about natural things, whether it's goodwill of man, or better future circumstances or even our own ability to handle situations. But hope is different because of where hope is placed. As a Christian my hope isn't placed in things like better circumstances, or humankind or even my ability to rise above life's difficulties. My hope is placed in something beyond myself, something bigger than myself, bigger than humankind. My hope's rock is something that won't let me down, something that's not as fickle as my own emotions. Where your hope is placed is important, which becomes clear if you've ever lost hope. If you've ever lost hope I suspect you placed it in something that was going to let you down, as I have done myself. Of course you probably didn't think you had it misplaced at the time, but the result of losing that hope should make it clear that whatever you placed it in failed you. Now what if you say "I put my hope in God and He let me down"?, well I dare to speculate that perhaps it wasn't Him that let you down. But rather you may have been let down because you didn't get what you expected of Him. To which I would have to reply you were not then failed by Him, but rather by your misplaced hope in your expectations of Him. So your hope was in your expectations of Him and not in Him alone. If our hope is in Him alone, whatever may come our way, we can take it head on, trusting Him in whom we hope. Why trust Him? Because His word shows us He has a plan for us a future and a hope. That His love for us only has our best interest in mind. Of course it will not always look or feel like that, but we see in a very small bit of time, and we see very little of such a vast picture.
I'm gonna come back to this as my focus comes back.
2 comments:
The soul and the spirit influence us in a very similar fashion. This is true of hope, love, our hearts desires and many other things that are natural, yet spiritual.
The writer of Hebrews was very clear about the relationship of soul and spirit.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
But only one is of God. It is the relationship with Jesus, and the meditation of His Word that make it clear.
Good message!
Thanks for sharing the site. I will have to reread this when I have some quiet time. I see a lot of thought provoking comments that are well worth a reread.
This is a comment left by a coworker of mine.
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