One of THOSE nights...

This has definitely been a season of change. Part of me is enjoying the floating along in life... not many commitments beyond work. I'm taking tennis lessons. Or, rather, I just finished my first tennis lessons. There's a marked improvement in my forehand and backhand. I have learned some of the basics of serving but am not too skilled at serving the ball properly AND not faulting. I practiced a bit tonight.

It's been kind of a lonely season. I've been praying for a friend this year. You know... a best friend. Someone to really share life with. Someone who knows me (as well as another human can know me, anyway). I feel like a lot of my friends have sorta moved on in life. I don't blame them. I most likely would have moved on too, had the opportunity presented itself. But, even as I write this, I realize that certain opportunities have come and gone, and I've elected not to seize them for whatever reason(s).

I was thinking the other day about the nature of hope... what it is, what it's not. It seems to me that hope is what allows us to keep going when we would otherwise be tempted to give up. But, there is also "false hope." It seems to give us the same ability to persevere, but it ultimately (and utterly) disappoints. And is it even really worth persevering in something if the hope you hold in it is only an illusion?

As I was debating this, I thought about Hebrews 11:1, which says "Now FAITH is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

We can put our hope in a lot of things, but hope misplaced will ultimately prove to be a false hope. There's only ONE object worthy of our hope, and only ONE object in which we should place our faith.

From Psalm 33...

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.

18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.

21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.