Hope Abounds

Last week, I struggled with hope. Not with having it but with trying to explain it. I needed to write a devotional on hope. Examples weren't hard to come by. Neither was the Reason for my hope. But the task---attempting to put into words why hope continues in the face of bad news or after years and years of hoping for the same thing---seemed impossible.

For instance, I know that at least five of my friends are currently struggling with infertility. Each couple longs to have a child. I'm not sure what each couple's "hope-ometer" reading is right now; more than likely, some readings are higher than others depending on the day.

I talked with one of those friends today, and her "hope-ometer" revealed that it was running on empty. She's recently received some difficult news, which made her question whether God loves her. She wondered why God would give her a desire and then not fulfill that desire. She asked whether I had hope that God would fulfill the desire on my heart.

In all honesty, I believe He will. I don't know when or how; I just have the hope that He will. I don't know how God fills up my "hope-ometer"; I just know that He can and that He does. I guess I would equate it with knowing that God can and does heal people, but I don't understand how He does it. Sometimes the healing is instantaneous, and sometimes it takes years, like with my friend Bekah.

I'd love to hear what y'all, my faithful readers, think. What do you know to be true about hope? How have you continued to hope in the face of despair? You don't have to leave your name, but don't be shy about answering.