Signs of Hope

"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him."  Psalm 62:5 (NIV)

This weekend is one of those weekends.  In New England, we are used to having snow during the winter months.  Yet, when February 15th hits - inside, we start hoping for Spring.  It just so happens that the last couple of weeks, we have seen the greatest amount of snow this winter.  So when a weekend like this one comes along, we savor it.  What is so special about this weekend?

Temperatures reached 50 degrees!  The snow started melting.  The air is warmer.  The sun seems brighter.  Car wash lines were long, windows and doors were open, people replaced the parkas with windbreakers, hats/gloves were shed and sunglasses were donned.  This weekend gives us in New England hope - hope that spring is right around the corner.

Days like this, days of hope, remind me of where true hope comes from.  I know that over my years, I have searched for hope in many things.  I have searched for hope in people I am close to, family and friends.  I have searched for hope in work.  I have searched for hope even in books.  It isn't that any of these things are bad in searching for hope.  Yet, when I look for hope there, I don't seem to get all my answers, all my peace, all my rest.  Good things may result when I search for my hope there - but it doesn't result in full peace for my soul.

When I go to my Lord for hope, the results are different.  Yes, I may still find good things, but along with that comes the peace, the rest, that only God can provide when we put our hope in Him.  How do we do that?  And what can we see from God?  Hope in God comes from faith.  When our faith takes root in Him who provides everything, our hope in what God has for us grows.  What we hope for doesn't necessarily happen right away, like we would imagine, just because we go to God with our hope.  What we do know is that when we bring our hope to God, the correct path will be taken.  

We may hope to recover from an illness quickly.  We go to our God for hope.  Recovery is delayed.  Why does this happen?  There can be many reasons why.  I know, in  my case, it means I need to grow closer to God, closer to His word.  We may hope for a relationship to be restored.  We go to God for hope.  Why isn't it happening?  We don't know, but in my case it was a relationship that I learned from.  

We can find our hope in so much that God gives to us - resting peace hope.  Maybe it is in a doctor who says to us, "You may not have recovery today, but you will have FULL recovery in another month."  Maybe it is in a friend that says, "I can't forgive you now, but I will pray on this," and writes a note to you in a week.  Maybe it is in a warm day in February, that tells us Spring is coming.  Hope comes in many signs from our Dear Lord.  For us, we need to be mindful, not spiteful.  We need to be quiet and listen.  We need to be still and not chaotic.  We need to trust, have faith, and believe that God is the one where our hope lies.  

"Dearest God, we know that when we put our hope in you, the peace for our souls becomes evident.  We know that when we put our hope in you, you provide for our every need and you give us what is best for us.  May we trust you always, with all of our hope.  Amen."