“My Soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” Luke 1 v 46-47
Mary, a young unwed mum-to-be with an unplanned pregnancy in an orthodox culture where this sort of shameful behaviour was the death-knell for future marriage prospects, could easily have fallen into depression. Her joyful hope seemed unfounded in such dire circumstances. What gave her hope and caused her to dance with joy? It was surely the revelation in her spirit that God was in control and that the new direction, however unexpected, was a gift from God. Hope makes us step out with confidence – puts a spring into our step.
We all have hopes and dreams but how do we deal with our disappointments when plans go awry? Continual disappointments can destroy a hopeful outlook on life. Cultural expressions such as in Dante’s Divine Comedy “Abandon hope all who enter here” seep into daily speech and undermine confidence in God’s ability to transform lives. But however jocular this turn of phrase in our culture is, it has nothing to do with Hope, a spark in every human which the Love of God, sustains. Hope of a way out of difficulties is essential for everyone’s mental well-being. It is only hope of a better life that drives the people travelling across continents from conflicts or abusive regimes to leave the situation they are in – in many cases it is an ill-founded hope in the goodwill of people traffickers or an expectation that Governments of so-called Christian countries will do the right thing.
In Hebrew one word for Hope is Chacah – whose meaning is to flee to for protection, to confide in, a rock to which we cling in adverse circumstances. When the world needs hope like never before the concept of Hope in God needs restoring. In a youth culture which includes the use of tantalizing but temporary substitutes for HOPE our compassionate understanding and actions can change peoples’ perceptions of God. A Mossley Soup event I recently heard about run by Emmaus charity brings hope that homelessness does not have to be hopelessness! Another word in Hebrew used in the Scriptures for hope is Yachal meaning to be patient, wait and trust, to stay in expectation of something good. Perseverance in hope by everyone is needed to see the outworking of the invisible concept of hope in a tangible way
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130 v 5)
“The hope of the righteous brings joy” (Proverbs 10 v 28)
En-joying life is a by-product of the power of Hope in God to deliver fruitful lives. In reacting to the unexpected, like Mary, we can rejoice and speak, in whatever environment we inhabit, about the Hope that is within us.