THE JOY OF HOPING

John 16:22
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
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When I was in 1st grade, as we are reviewing my homework in Religion, my father then asked me, “so what do you mean by Hope?” Again, I was dumbfounded. My first response is that it is a cigarette brand (in the Philippines, there is a cigarette brand called Hope). My second response is more out of this world, “it is what you say when stopping something (hoppp, which sounds like “ooppps”. And of course, both are wrong, very wrong!

He then explained, “hope is pag-asa (in Tagalog), isang bagay na gustong makamit o mangyari ng isang tao”. When you hope for something, you have a wish to get or do something; for something to happen or be true. In effect, you put your belief in something that is unseen. Because hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we wait for it with patience (Romans 8:24-25). And that hope in the Lord would keep our heart rejoicing, as we await His second coming. Keep that joy in your heart!!!

Oh Lord, all through my life, I have placed my hope, my trust in “man” – hope that my teacher will give me a passing grade, hope that my mother will give me a good birthday gift, hope that my boss will give me a raise, hope that my wife will understand me. And most of the time, if you put your trust in “man”, you are guaranteed to get hurt because at some point, someone is going to let you down and deeply disappoint you. For you are believing in someone other than God, to give you hope or happiness.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, as I go through this material life, I have to truly put everything in Your hands, for You are our only hope. I do not really know what the future holds for me, my family, my friends; but one thing is for sure, WE KNOW WHO HOLDS OUR FUTURE – AND YOU ARE THE SOURCE OF OUR JOY IN OUR HEARTS. Because only You knows everything. And for us, that should be enough.

Amen +

God is king of all the earth.