“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12
Having put off shopping long enough, I planned a trip to multiple stores in an orderly fashion to save time and money. Running low, I had planned and expected to get some toilet paper. So I ‘head’ed in that direction as a first stop. But when I got there, the shelves were empty! Having noted the same situation a week ago, the store manager told me, “it’s been a problem!”
I had planned to go to 6 stores. The next stop found my attitude slightly adjusted as ‘expectation’ turned into ‘HOPING’ they had the stuff there. It seemed that at each store I went to, the crowds got bigger…while the TP rolls got smaller and more expensive! I asked a few folks if there was something going on I didn’t know about. Receiving several explanations, I headed home. I said I was LOW on TP….not OUT! What I was OUT of…was patience!
I am sick of 2020 and can’t wait to get on to next year. I EXPECT and WANT next year to be better. But as I look around and see what has been going on, HOPE seems to be flushing away. As society gets more demanding, fear and selfishness are becoming more common. Seeing a grown man wearing a mask and pushing a cart full of toilet paper is disgusting to me! It nauseates me to my core!
The theme this week of Advent is ‘HOPE.” Hope and Faith have a LOT in common. BOTH look into a future that wants things to be different and BETTER! To me, the difference is that Faith is HOPE with Holy legs under it! It is an active verb. Not a wishful noun. It looks forward to better because that is where God lives. And it is from there that He calls to me…us!!
I am a Faith Guy. While that may have a lot to do with my upbringing, it actually has more to do with my experience. I have tried SO many ways to figure out life and to try to get ahead. I hoped to become a winner and not a loser. All the attempts, fear, worry and doubt only led me to go BACK quicker and pay more attention to applying that FAITH! SO I did!
Malachi 3:10 shows God with His chest puffed out, arms crossed and a stern expression on His face. “TEST ME!” He says. Now I may not be the smartest dude in the class, but I ain’t the stupidest either! I have been through lots of trial and trouble in my life and applied the whole ‘Test Me’ thing to see for myself, and I can say THIS for certain…when it comes to Faith…there may be times I may ‘seem’ to be running low…but I am NEVER OUT!
What do YOU hope for?
