Somewhere in the transition between childhood and becoming an adult we learn to brace ourselves for disappointment. Perhaps it’s the collective consequence of a myriad of small dreams not coming to fruition, or a major loss that caught us unaware, but whatever the reason we start saying things like “We shouldn’t shoot too high” or “I don’t want to get my hopes up” as we prepare for perceived inevitable letdown.
As a friend reminded me on a recent blog post, however, as a Christian our hopes should always be up – as we place them in the faithful hands of our Heavenly Father. The God of the Bible who often used people beyond their wildest dreams (for example – Abraham, Moses, Joseph and Peter), is the God who wants to use our lives to bring Him glory. Our lives may not turn out the way that we’ve planned, they certainly didn’t for those Biblical examples, but because our Father who looks down on us from above is carefully orchestrating our lives for His purposes, we know that when we fully and firmly place our hope in Him, we will not be disappointed.
May all of us get our hopes up – up into the hands of the One who will use them for His eternal purposes.