TIM E HOLDER

 

So, lately, as I’ve been reading stories from my Bible, I have been concerned about my personal definition of the word HOPE.  I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn when I say most people in our society and culture equate hope with not much more than a characterless wish that some life experience will turn out for the best…or ALL life experiences will turn out for the best. 

If hope is only a verb, wanting something to happen or be the case, it seems to be passive…a sort of mamby-pamby, tasteless admission that although I absolutely do believe God’s promises are true, the best I can run toward is an uninvolved, apathetic sort of weak-kneed, armchair faith that can really expect nothing more than the idea that God understands my limitations in the belief department and loves me anyway.  “I hope heaven is real.  I hope I get to spend eternity there.  I hope The Lord is true to his promises.” 

Based on what I believed of hope, I couldn’t connect folks of faith in scripture who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and wrote about their hope.  How could they have walked and talked with God and Jesus and only have “hope” (a wish) that they would finish the race in His presence?  It just didn’t work for me.  It almost seemed disingenuous to say I “hoped” or “wished” for things I can’t see when the reality is that I KNOW they are real.  As real as this iPad I’m writing on or the the grass I love to feel beneath my bare feet.  Even more so.  There are times when I could almost explode from the reality of life unseen and promises yet to be unwrapped. 

So how was I to reconcile what I knew to be true with what I thought was a correct definition of a single word…HOPE!!! 

One day The Lord, very clearly said to me, “Is hope only a verb?”  I immediately sat down with my Bible and began looking at scriptures where the word is used.  I began reading them with hope as a noun.  WOW!!!  It was as if the skies burst open and blessing after blessing fell into my heart. 

HOPE is not static.  It is not flat or spiritless or wavering.  It is moving.  It is unpredictable.  It is a strong and confident expectation that what my heart KNOWS is true and real will one day be seen with my eyes.  “My HOPE is that heaven is real.  My HOPE is that I will spend eternity there.  My HOPE is in Jesus.”  It has made all the difference. 

Although hope is a noun, it is extremely active.  It calls me to be alive in every moment.  Hope is a land…a green tree…the place I pitch my tent…it is not a dream. Check these verses out…use the noun…not the verb.  

 Lamentations 3:28-30 When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: Wait for HOPE to appear. Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The “worst” is never the worst.

Matthew 11:21 Before you know it, his justice will triumph; the mere sound of his name will signal HOPE, even among far-off unbelievers.

Romans 15:12,13 People of all nations, celebrate God! All colors and races, give hearty praise! And Isaiah’s word: There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse, breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take HOPE! Oh! May the God of green HOPE fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with HOPE.

 Colossians 1:5 The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by HOPE.

Hebrews 6:12 And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied HOPE, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.

Hebrews 6:18 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised HOPE with both hands and never let go. 

 Acts 2:27,28 I saw God before me for all time. Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side. I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic; I’ve pitched my tent in the land of HOPE.

And listen to this one, those who have only “wished.”

Job14:7-9 “At least there is HOPE for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and it’s new shoots will not fail.”

 I believe the power of prayer cocoons us in safety as we individually or corporately petition God. I believe prayer is an energy field that repels darts of the enemy from puncturing our faith and our passions, even our dreams.  It’s one of the reasons I have dogs. I love walking around the house talking to God. So, if neighbors chance to see me dancing or singing or just talking, they will think I’m playing with my pets. I believe that connection with our Father God, and our best friend, Jesus, should be the most natural,  commonplace, normal thing we do.

So, I asked The Lord to give me more opportunities to live out my “hope.”  The ‘realness’ of hope. Not just a wish. Then a conversation happened at work and I was propelled into one of the most “normal” adventures of my life.   I was working the cash register at work at a Christian bookstore.  The book “Heaven Is For Real” was on sale.  One day a tiny, little lady, probably my age (YOUNG) came through the line.  I, as per protocol, asked “Would you be interested in purchasing Heaven Is For Real for five dollars today?”

She looked up at me and smiled, “No thank you.”  There was a slight pause, then she said. “I know heaven is real.”

What I learned earlier in the week was forefront in my mind. “Yes, ma’am.  Me too.”

She looked me square in the eyes. “I’m going to see it very soon.”

Every energy synapse in my body began firing at warp speed.  The air around us was literally electric with spiritual activity. I wanted to take my shoes off. We were on sacred ground. My focus shifted immediately from what I THOUGHT was an unusual experience to a confident expectation of the truly natural. 

“Really?  How can you be sure?”

She spoke quietly, as though she didn’t want to cause anyone in hearing distance to be uncomfortable. “I have esophageal cancer.  I have very little time left.  I am moving into hospice next week.”

I chose, more than probably prompted by The Holy Spirit, to live that moment in the secure assurance of hope.

“Wow…you know what?  I have a friend who died just a couple of months ago from that same thing.  He’s home now.  His wife, one of my dear college friends, Vicky, died several years ago, too.  I love knowing they are together now.  And I love knowing I will see them again.  When you get home, would you find Chris and Vicky Dell and tell them I said “HEY” and I can’t wait to see them?”

She looked up at me and tears filled her eyes.  It was as if the reality of her bright future, filled with a secure and real  and substantial and tangible hope, suddenly crystalized for her.  She wasn’t scared.  She didn’t have to be.  She suddenly realized there was then and always would be work for her to do.  She was important. 

I asked her if I could pray with her.  I asked the other folks in line if they minded waiting for a moment or two.  They all said no problem.  I walked her to the end of the counter and we held hands.  I thanked The Lord for the opportunity he gave me to meet this precious lady that I knew I would see again.  I thanked him that His promises are true.  And I thanked Him for the hope of heaven.

When I finished, she looked up at me and said, “Chris and Vicky Dell, right?”   

“Yes ma’am.  Chris and Vicky Dell.”  

“I will find them.”

And I watched as she walked out the doors into the sunlight. The vacuum, the feeling that nothing else in the world was really real, that anything was more significant than that single moment was gone. But, the sweet aroma of what it feels like to be in a position of real normalcy…the standard of how I should live my life was overwhelming. Suddenly, the curtain between the natural, and what I always felt was the supernatural were far less defined. I felt as though she was going around the corner to a really cool, very familiar restaurant where we’d never been yet. And I knew my friends were already there.  I am certain that when she got there, she found my buddies and said Hi for me. Maybe over a meal at that cool little restaurant. I hear the Master Chef preparing the meal is amazing…far beyond 5-star, since he is the one, after all, Who created the entire star system. I am certain I will see her again.  That is what is normal. That is where i have pitched my tent.  That is my HOPE.

Hope is feeling the grass of heaven beneath my earth bound feet.