Hope! Wanting something to happen and trusting that it will.

Sometimes the second part is not easy.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” – Proverbs 13:12,

When something we've hoped for has been delayed for many years, or seems a long way off, we can despair. When that which we've longed for comes to fruition, it is like a flourishing tree.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. —Hebrews 11:1

What do we do while we are waiting to see our hope fulfilled? We rest in the assurance of Jesus, that his timing is better than ours. We rest patiently in his arms. We are not to take a "Are we there yet?" attitude.

Yet we are not to be lazy, do nothing for ourselves during our time of waitng, and most importantly we should be in an attitude of prayer, with our eyes open, so we can recognize God's means to resuce us from the predicament we are in.

I am sure many of you have heard or read this story:

A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help.

Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."

The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me."

So the rowboat went on.

Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."

To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."

So the motorboat went on.

Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."

To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."

So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.

Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand why!"

To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"

What if this person would have had the sense to recognize his rescue and not dictate the terms of it. He was looking for something undefined. Was he looking for a hand to come down from Heaven?

The movie "All is Lost" has one of the simplest endings of any movie I have ever seen. However, it is one of the most moving as well. A drowning man, whose sailboat sank and his life raft caught on fire forcing him to abandon it, is under the water and sinking fast. Suddenly a light appears in the dark water, he swims up to the bright beam cutting through the darkness. Then he sees a hand coming down towards him.

He grasps it.

That is how the movie ends.

All is not lost. Sometimes we come to that point, thinking that all is lost including all hope, but in truth, it never is, is it?

We have to believe and hope in that truth.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. —Romans 15:3

Derrick