Hope

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 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. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:22-25)

          When do you need hope? We all need hope all the time, but when do you need hope? Obvious answer #1: When you don’t have it. Obvious answer #2: When circumstances are not as you think they should be or look like they will not be as you think they should be. You hope for someone’s arrival when they aren’t there yet. You hope for someone’s good health when there’s a thought it might not be or stay so good. Hope is a response to the comparative negative in our lives, current or imagined. If our lives were without struggle we could not know hope. If other people’s lives were without struggle, we could not give them hope.
         This being the case, what sort of hope would we have if we received the thing we hoped for ten seconds after we began to hope? Wouldn’t our hope fail after eleven or twenty seconds? Would it not be weak? Studies show that children who learn to delay gratification grow up to be stronger, more capable adults than children who do not. Patience is a necessary ingredient of hope. Hope is a necessary ingredient of patience. With time comes victory.