Hope

Day fifty-one

I was speaking at the Spanish Branch this morning and I admit I was nervous.  This is the first time I would speak with a translator and I wasn't sure what to expect.  I prayed that the Spirit would be with me and my translator this morning, that the message would come through the way the Lord intended.  I talked to Him openly about my concerns and apprehensions.  Then I thanked the Lord for the chance to take a leap and to lean on Him.  My feelings of nervousness started to change to anticipation, I was getting the opportunity to have a new experience, a chance to see things from a different perspective.  What a great blessing!  Once again, He helped me to see a situation through the proper eyes.

I think the talk went well.  The members of the Spanish Branch were very loving and patient with me.  I really enjoyed studying the topic of hope and thought that I might share what I learned on my blog.  I hope you enjoy it.

 Hope

Some things I’ve learned about hope:

Hope is a forward-looking confidence in God’s perfect plan.

Hope in action is the ability to press through today’s hardships because you know they are part of a larger plan—a plan that will result in rewards that far outweigh the hardships.

We hear the word hope all the time.  “I hope I win the prize.” “I hope the teacher doesn’t call on me.”  “I hope our team wins the championship.”  In everyday use, “I hope” really isn’t any different from “I wish.”

But that’s not the kind of hope the scriptures talk about.  You might hope to win the prize, but you really don’t have any reason to believe that you actually will.  That kind of hope doesn’t really have any power to sustain you when you’re going through the hard times.

The hope described in the scriptures has more to do with confidence than with wishing.  Hope is a conviction that you are moving toward a future that a good God holds in his hands.  It’s having faith that there is a reason for everything in your life, even if you don’t understand the reason at the time.  It’s a confidence that all things –the sorrows as well as the joys- ultimately work for your good, your eternal happiness.

There is a quote by Hadley Moule that reminds me to have hope:

“There is no situation too chaotic that God cannot, from that situation, create something that is surprisingly good.  He did it at the creation.  He did it at the cross.  He is doing it today.”

I would like to talk a little bit about God creating something good out of what might seem a not-so- great situation.

Moses chapter 4 The Story of the Fall

At first glance this chapter appears to be a tragic story of deceit, human weakness, and dire consequences.  However, I look at this chapter as a chance to look at the hard times in our lives from a different perspective, one of hope. 

We know that out of Adam and Eve's choices the Plan of Salvation was put into action here on Earth.  There would have been no opportunity for progression had their transgression not occurred. I don't know if Adam and Eve completely understood the implications of their actions at the time, and I imagine it must have been a very emotional experience to be removed from the Garden of Eden and the presence of God, but the consequences of their choice led to hope for all of God's children.  Good things came from what might be seen as a tragic situation. 

We have great stories of seeing hope in the chaos of our world today.  There is a story about the wife of a sailor who is waiting for her husband to come home.  While she is waiting, their house catches on fire and they lose everything.  Soon after this the sailor arrives on shore and runs to kiss his wife, but he finds her sad and crying.  When he asks what is wrong she says that she cannot be happy because their house burnt down and they have lost everything.  The sailor hugs his wife and explains that had it not been for their house burning down the sailor would never have made it home, for it was the flames of the fire that gave them hope and led them to the shore safely through the fog.

We all might be guilty at one time of saying, “I know that I should have hope, but things aren’t so great right now and I am overwhelmed with feelings of hopelessness.”

Whenever I feel that way I turn to prayer and the scriptures.  It is something that was ingrained into me as a seminary teacher, if you want guidance, pray and search the scriptures.  One scripture verse that really keeps me on track when it comes to hope is Ether 12:4:

“Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”

Your hope is as certain as your belief in God.  Colossians 1:27 speaks of “Christ in you and the hope of glory.”  Is Christ in you?  If so, then you have hope, a hope to live for.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are the perfect examples of hope.  They believe in each of us and hope that we will yearn to be with them as much as they want to be with us. Can you hear the hope in Moses 1:39? “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”  Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation is filled with hope that we will learn it, love it, and do it, so that we can have eternal life. 

The gift of agency teaches us about hope.  The Lord hopes that we make the right choices as much as we hope we make the right choices.  Think of the last tough decision you made, where did you seek guidance?  Hopefully it was from the Lord through prayer.  Talking to God everyday and expecting the right answers is hope at its best!  Both sides benefit.  Heavenly Father gets to hear from us (which he hopes for) and we get the best answer to our question (which we hope for).

The doctrine of eternal life brings a hope of never being apart from our Father in Heaven and our Savior again.  The hope that God offers his people is more than a vague wish that the sun will come out tomorrow; it’s a genuine confidence that in all things, even the painful things, God is perfecting you, straightening you out, shaping you into something beautiful for all eternity. 

Speaking of perfecting ourselves, what a message of hope we find in the Atonement.  We hope to use the power of the atonement through repentance and be clean again and rid ourselves of guilt and shame.  In the Book of Romans we are taught:  “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts…” (Romans 5:5) and in the Moroni 7:41 we learn that “hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection” leads us “to be raised unto life eternal.” 

Imagine how much happier the people of the world would be if they would have hope in the power of the atonement and repent. They would get their chance to live their lives without guilt or shame, two things that can suck the hope right out of someone.

I guess my message today is to remember that hope is an eternal principle.  It is through hope that we should look to our future.  Remember that God has hope in you and has begun a work in you and he is going to complete it.  And someday when he is finished, you will be like Christ himself.

In the meantime, let hope shape every decision you make.  Let that confidence control the way you think about yourself and the world around you.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ . Amen.