Hope

Hope is a curious thing. 

Somehow, by its very nature, it ignores all the evidence before its eyes, and chooses instead to believe something better is about to reveal itself.  In this way, I think hope is blinder than love.  Hope is a kind of positive insanity that refuses to accept that the way things currently are will be true tomorrow. 

But what does hope turn into when and if it is finally realized or justified?  If hope is the thing that keeps you chasing, what happens to it when you finally catch whatever it was you were after? 

Because my mind is incurably visual, here is the picture I see. 

Hope is like a magnate.  The inherent properties of this magnate work regardless of the environment around – it could be wet, dark, smelly, or on fire, and this magnate would still be determinately and forcefully seeking out that other part.  The strongest kind of hope is not deterred by the environment it is in.

In this picture, hope is the thing which powers the movement towards something, but once hope is realized, once that hope is fulfilled and justified in its pursuit, then that power of hope is also what keeps it bound to the thing it was seeking.  Hope presses in close.  Hope doesn't let go.  Hope seeks to find what its looking for so that it can never be in that state of seeking again. 

If you find yourself still.  Motionless in hope.  Seeking nothing.  Don’t just grab onto whatever happens to be near you.  Recharge your ability to hope, and it will seek out the best thing to hope for.  And when you find it, never let go.  Since we are beings created by God, the thing I hope for is to chase after Him.  To press in closer and closer and find that hope keeps me latched on. 

He is a worthy thing to hope in and for.