Be Joyful in Hope

Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Hope scares me. It always feels like a bubble or a beautiful dream close enough to touch but fragile and quick to disappear. As God and I have been talking about Hope this year I found my first response was fear. I took a deep breath and thought, "not again; I thought we covered this one"...and did it well. During my last journey with Hope I even bought the word ( which I didn't want at the time). I didn't want the reminder of God asking me to Hope for things in my life; things I was scared I would never have.

I even had it in a specific location in my apartment where I would have to see it every day when I would walk in the door and before I left. I knew I had to choose Hope even when my heart was terrified. And though I found strength in the Hope I discovered with God I am still scared. For me Hope is about dreaming and God is calling my heart to dream, wish, and Hope. Hope more, Hope longer, Hope bigger, and in my Hope find joy.

Fear asks, " What if what I Hope for never happens?" It wants to pull me into myself, crawl some place safe and live in fear instead of possibly being disappointed. Disappointment happens but don't loose sight of Joy.

Fear keeps me from dreaming big, Hoping for more, and from experiencing joy. Dreaming gives joy, the joy of thinking about the possibilities. And there can be sadness in loss of expectations. But God isn't saying be joyful in expectations...be joyful in HOPE. Hope of what can be, what might be, and what could be. Hope is free from expectations.

I think God wants me to do a bit more untangling.

He makes all things new