Hope is a Promise

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"And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping." (Romans 8:24).

Faith is a power, and Hope is a promise. For Hope is always about that which is yet to come; never about what we currently possess.

Faith reaches into the future and brings into the present a borrowed power that enables us to live today in the strength of tomorrow; to posses this earth with heaven in mind; to live in the presence of the "not yet."

But Hope differs in this regard: it knows what is promised, even though it cannot see it, and though it will never lay hold of it until the day it actually arrives -- Hope holds firm without wavering. Faith is for this world; Hope is for the next. There will be no need for Faith in Heaven once we are there, so we should spend all that we have while we are here.

But our Hope will pay off huge on That Day when we cross the threshold of Time into Eternity and see what our hearts have only imagined. Hope is a promise that holds our hearts forward to a better day, that lifts us above the present darkness of a bad stretch and keeps us buoyant in the midst of turbulence and trouble.

But sometimes Hope flags in the face of delays; and Hope deferred can make the heart sick. Thus weakened with soul-sickness, our hearts may lose their grip on what is promised; our Hope may fade and our passion to keep a forward view can diminish in the dusk of uncertain turns.

That's when Love steps in to lift Hope back on its feet -- for Love never fails.

Love is a Person. We'll meet this Person tomorrow.
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