Hope For a Better Tomorrow

Ending chapters of life really make a person nostalgic and I’m wrapping up the final paragraphs of what have been a fantastic four years at Baylor University. As I reflect on my time and growth through this experience, I am rejoicing in previous hopes and prayers answered. Things I wanted desperately throughout my time at Baylor have all come to fruition, although not all in the exact way I envisioned it.

But, I know there is hope for a better tomorrow.

One of my favorite things about the Bible is that I can always find a new meaning in passages that I’ve read over and over. Topics that I covered in depth a year ago can be displayed in a new light through The Living Word; something I can’t say about any other books.

I’ve written about hope before and I’ve always loved studying that word, but recently I’ve found a new meaning behind a topic I pridefully thought I completely understood. My new lesson can be summed up rather quickly…

Hope is Blind.

I know, I know. That isn’t the saying you probably know, but just hear me out. Biblical hope is built on faith, something that I want to define as “complete trust and confidence in something.” Hope, while closely and intimately related to faith, is not exactly that (despite a post I wrote a couple years ago that defined hope with almost those exact words).

Hope is the anticipation that comes with having faith. A confident expectation. A peaceful assurance that something unseen will indeed come into fruition. Faith and hope are complementary. Faith is found in absoluteness of past experience; hope gives attention to the potential of the future. Know your source of faith and from there you find your hope.

To have hope in tomorrow, in the future generation, in your own abilities, is something I would consider to be a form of worship because that reaffirms that you have FAITH in our God that His promises will ring true. I know this is difficult, especially in today’s world, where there is conflict, pain, suffering and confusion on all sides. How can someone have hope in a time where you probably feel a little hopeless?

Romans 8:24 says, “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?”

“Hope that is seen is no hope at all.” There is your answer. Your strongest form of hope comes when things seem hopeless- when you can’t see the good, the light at the end, the knight in shining whatever to save the world. Jesus’s power is shown through our weakness and our greatest strengths are found through Him alone.

Our HOPE in Him, the wondrous, powerful, almighty, Son–who has already saved us all, is our power.

Hope and the Future

Let me repeat a phrase I said earlier… faith is found absoluteness of past experience; hope gives attention to the potential of the future. Our faith comes from what has already happened. He has already died for you, cleansed you of your sin, paid for you IN FULL. There is your faith, your complete trust and confidence in the perfect Savior. Now comes hope. Anticipation that everything will happen according to His plan and that He will reign victorious in His promise.

A year ago, my hope was that I would graduate and be a therapist for children with developmental disabilities. I was HOPING that by the time I graduated that I would have something as simple as an internship lined up at a place even related to my interests. I was truly worried that when I graduated, that I would feel purposeless and believe my degree was wasted.

Jesus, in a way only he can really do, led me to a job soon after I wrote about hope and cast those worries to Him. A job that I not only absolutely adore, but one that has grown me, pushed me and led me to bigger mountains to climb on my journey to continue serving His Kingdom. As I look back and rejoice in the proof that Jesus is actively working in my favor, I have hope that He will continue to use me and shape me to better serve His people. I have hope for a better tomorrow.

Have a great weekend and Sic Em Bears.

Kaitlyn

Today is a big day! My sweet cousin, Kaitlyn Harris, is graduating from Baylor University. In fact, by the time you read this, I will have watched her cross the stage, receive her diploma and move her tassel. Showcasing her post today is intentional. It is my way of honoring her on this special occasion.

Hi, I’m Kaitlyn. I’m graduating today from Baylor University, with a bachelors in psychology and a minor in Leadership Studies. I have the world’s best job where I am a behavioral therapist for children with developmental disabilities. In the fall I will start a masters program to continue my studies as I seek to serve the special needs community to the fullest extent of my abilities.

God has called me to serve the underserved and my goal is to point others towards the Gospel with the way I live my life. I’m a frequent contributor to Peacefully Imperfect and I would appreciate your prayers.