HOPE WAIT AND REST

HOPE MEANS TO WAIT AND REST

There is no medicine like HOPE - the expectation that tomorrow will be better than today.

And for the Christian that hope is no idle dream. Our future can brim with expectation because of Jesus’ promise,    “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”(John 14:3)

But in the meantime we need the daily reminder and encouragement that our waiting is not in vain.

HOPE is the Hebrew word yahal/yachal which means to WAIT, to REST in expectation, to REMAIN STATIONARY until the arrival of some PERSON or EVENT. For believers the PERSON is Jesus our HOPE (1Ti 1:1) and the EVENT is His Second Coming (Titus 2:13) which includes the consummation of our salvation and our "adoption as sons, the redemption of our body" (glorification - Ro 8:23-note).

And so HOPE is not hype but is a very real and ever present invitation to look ahead eagerly and with confident expectation that the best is yet to come.

Corrie Ten Boom said it this way "LOOK AROUND AND BE DISTRESSED. LOOK INSIDE AND BE DEPRESSED. LOOK AT JESUS (our hope ) AND BE AT REST.”

Indeed we must continually fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2), for outside of Him, there is no hope! We need to recall that Jesus understands what we are experiencing for He Himself said "My soul is DEEPLY GRIEVED  to the point of death," (Mt 26:38) and thus He is able to "sympathize with our weaknesses." (Heb 4:15-note).

As John Piper says “we must fight the fight of faith (1Ti 1:18, 1Ti 6:12, 2Ti 4:7). We must PREACH to our SOULS a sermon of hope…We must SET BEFORE OUR OWN SOUL THE BANQUET OF PROMISES that God has made to us and FEED our faith to the full (Ro 10:17-note, Mt 4:4, 1Pe 2:2-note). Then it may be said of us as it was of Stephen and Barnabas: “They were filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 6:5, Acts 11:24)”

ECONOMY OF MOTION

Even the most mundane tasks should be done with a calm and harmonious spirit that exhibits tranquility, quiet joy, and economy of motion. Meditation should be practiced as an integral part of life, not as an escape from life. Meditation is reflective thinking or contemplation, usually on a specific subject to discern its meaning or significance or a plan of action. Where there is stillness and rest there is one movement of maximum force. “In quietness and trust is your strength.” (Isaiah  33:15)

The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever. (Isaiah 32:17)

THE HARMONY OF STRIVING AND COMPROMISE

The Harmony of Striving and Compromise

Think of how a river embodies these two natures.

It compromises with the geographical terrain, eroding and smoothing the way as it goes while relentlessly flowing forward, striving to achieve its ultimate purpose of uniting with the ocean. These two natures are always simultaneously in balance.

The river prioritizes its effort: Gushing on to the Ocean is its first goal, removing or getting around the rock is its second. While achieving its second objective it never loses sight of its first objective.

This principle runs throughout every aspect of our lives.

In our marital lives, the first objective is to strive for sustaining and creating a loving and harmonious environment for our family. The secondary  objective is not to lose our individuality. In order to strive for our first objective, we often compromise our individual differences.

The same situation can occur in a business negotiation. The primary objective might be to create a cooperative partnership to enhance our company’s global market, while the secondary objective is to fight for the best deal possible. In order to achieve the big picture a negotiator needs to balance between making the deal and the necessity to compromise. For without compromise there is no deal. 

-Chin-Ning Chu, Discover the Hidden Power of Giving In