Have you ever seen the movie, “Imagine That”? A family classic, starring Eddie Murphy, about a girl whose dad was such a busy executive, he never had time for her. But circumstances surrounding work drove him to create a serious amount of time for her (admittedly for dodgy reasons! He was competing to win a position in the company that will set him for life). The girl had her own talent competition at school, and a serious case of stage fright. Noticeably, the more time they spent with each other, the better equipped they both seemed to be….…except that the girl still had stage fright.
The sad reality was, the better he got, the more excuses he made for missing on some days of practice. But the girl consoled herself with the fact that he’d show up for her school talent show. He had to, or she would die of fright on the stage. Her legs were already jelly but she pushed that little out of her mind. He would show. He gave his word, and he is a man of his word. HE WOULD BE THERE!
And that is the real definition of hope. Hope is expectance. It is faith in practice. You’re so sure it will happen, even though the stats are too unpredictable for you to predict. Here’s what the bible says.
'I wait eagerly for the Lord 's help, and in his word I trust. I wait for the Lord more eagerly than sentries wait for the dawn— than sentries wait for the dawn.'
Psalm 130:5-6
‘I wait’ and ‘...in His word I trust..’ are some of the phrases that hit home in this verse. Hope means waiting. You wait. Your heart beats wildly, your logic has given up but you’re still waiting.
In our story, the girl in question kept waiting. Five minutes to stage, no show. 2 minutes. 1 minute. 30 seconds. Five seconds to stage. Still he didn’t show. She was ushered unto the stage, looked out across the audience, saw her mum sitting, waving cheerfully, next to an empty seat.
Consider how many questions would circulate your mind if you were that girl. Did He lie to me? Is He still in charge? Has He left me? Can I still be able to trust His promises? Isn’t He God? Did He become powerless? She heard the piano play, but her legs turned jelly, and her mouth went dry. The lights broadcasted her humiliation before the entire school, nay, the entire planet. He wasn’t there.
Two lifetimes of shame later, as she prepared to cry herself off the stage, he bursts in, in the most dramatic fashion, wiping her shame and giving her strength in, literally a split second!! Fast forward five minutes later, she had the whole school on their feet, in a standing ovation.
Here’s what we’re talking about. The darkest times are about 2, 3 hours before dawn. But the psalmist has made up his mind, and is indeed convincing us to ‘..wait’, and ‘..in his word…trust’, even though it is so dark, the hours feel long.
You see, faith brings up so many questions that cannot be answered by logic. Can logic answer definitively how the world was made? No. Can logic answer definitively that you’ll see today? Nope. But you did, anyway, didn’t you? But faith gives on answer: trust me. And hope is the effectual practice of that trust.
Why don’t you close your eyes, go to God in prayer, right now? Trust like that is difficult, from a human experience, so ask for grace to trust Him.
No idea how to?
And if you’ve no idea how to, or you don’t understand how to get started on the journey of faith, it’s simple. You accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. And if you’re interested, say this prayer after me:
“Lord Jesus, I come before you. I admit that I am a sinner. Please forgive me. Empower me with your Holy Spirit. In Jesus Name, Amen. Now, ask your Father in heaven for help. Tell Him those rough patches in your life. Ask Hm to show up. Now ask Him for grace to wait. In Jesus’ Name, we’ve prayed. Amen.
If you have just prayed that prayer, I celebrate you. You are now a Christian!! Now, find yourself a bible believing, bible-preaching church to attend. We will continually pray for you so, why don’t you get in touch? We’d love to pray with you, support you however we can.