The Rope of Hope

One of the principles I have held to throughout my adult life is that you can do almost anything, as long as you know it won’t last forever.  I believe that.  You may have a situation that is trying your patience to the core.  I guarantee you, it won’t last forever.  If it’s a child you are struggling with – children grow, and go in and out of phases that both delight and test you at the same time.    If it’s a job situation, things often change within a work environment, or you can choose to make a change.  If it’s being separated from a loved one through work, military service, etc., you know there will come a time when you will be together again.  You have hope.  As long as there is a glimmer of hope, you can keep going, keep working, keep pushing through, until the time when the expectation of something better is realized.

I’ve been thinking about hope a lot lately.  The word “hope” has an interesting meaning in Hebrew, which I learned recently from listening to Rabbi Jason Sobel.  The Hebrew word for hope is “Tikvah,” and it means “expectation”.  It also means “cord” or “rope,” which comes from a root word that means “to bind” or “to wait for”.  What does a rope do?  It holds us fast, makes us secure; it can save us.  Think about a rope being thrown to someone who is drowning, or holding someone as they climb a mountain.  In those situations, a rope is literally a life-saver.   Something is required of us too, though, in that we have to take hold of the rope and not let go.  If we lose contact with the rope, there are dire consequences.

The Bible tells us that our God is a GOD OF HOPE.  Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”  His hope both holds us steady in the here and now, and reminds us of the expectation we have of Heaven.   

1^st Peter 1:3 says, “…according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”

This is our ultimate hope, a holy expectation, that through Jesus’s death and resurrection, we have new life in the here and now, and security for the life to come.  We have the hope of perfect peace, unbridled joy, and transformed lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. We have the hope of greater things to come.

So, be encouraged today, and remember to hold onto the Rope of Hope.