MILLENNIAL AUTHOR

Surviving Vs Living

What is hope? Is it a three-year-old hoping he would get a lot of toys for Christmas? Is it a mother hoping that her children would be good citizens? Is it a beggar hoping to get a day’s bread? Is it a couple hoping they’d be together as long as they live? Or is it hoping that the Lord would come to take His children home real soon?

What is hope…?

The more I thought about it, the harder it got to find the right words. What I finally got to is that hope is this burning desire which lets us expect the impossible despite our helpless situation. It inspires us to keep trying, learning, loving and living. 

"What I finally got to is that hope is this burning desire which lets us expect the impossible despite our helpless situation. It inspires us to keep trying, learning, loving and living."

We live in a world that is ever-changing, uncertain, and sometimes, scary. Freak weather, wars, financial crises, broken relationships, starvation, drought, diseases, you name it! We hear of these things and might even have experienced some of them firsthand.  Yet, among all these, “We have this hope that burns within our hearts, Hope in the coming of the Lord.”

We know this beautiful truth and it has set us free. It has given us the desire to hope despite our overwhelming circumstances. At some point in time we have all experienced Jesus personally. When I was younger, I used to wonder if I’d ever have an experience like the ones I used to hear in the mission stories told every Sabbath.

And then, one morning, I did.

My parents and I were considering my options for schooling the coming year since they were moving…again! I knew that I would have to go to a boarding school and I wasn’t excited about that. As I prayed, it struck me that hope and trust seemed to go hand in hand.  If I don’t trust God’s promises, then I’m not waiting around with hopes that He will come through for me. I couldn’t see my situation ever changing for the better, but I chose to trust God to take care of me believing that He knows what’s best for me. He could turn things around for the good and He did. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.

What I love the most about having a relationship with God is that I know for sure that I’m never on my own. Knowing He’s with me every step of the way allows me to hope with full confidence, that one day, this world—made new—will be perfect! 

For those who haven’t been born into this church and even for those who have, somewhere, someone has shared this hope with us or reignited it in our hearts. We will never forget those people, because we know for sure that it was God who sent them to us at just the right time as ambassadors of hope. 

"What I love the most about having a relationship with God is that I know for sure that I’m never on my own."

Every day we meet many people, but we often fail to see their needs. Somewhere around you, there is someone who’s frustrated, confused and who’s trying to find purpose in life.  All you may have to offer are a few words of hope, a hug, a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear. 

“The most persuasive eloquence is the word that is spoken in love and sympathy. Such words will bring light to confused minds and hope to the discouraged, brightening the prospect before them. The time in which we live calls for vital, sanctified energy, for earnestness, zeal and the tenderest sympathy and love; for words that will not increase misery, but will inspire faith and hope” (Our High Calling, p. 295).

We’ve all been recipients of hope at some point in time. Now, it’s our turn to point someone else to that hope!

Random thought...

...Do we really believe that hope lies outside ourselves, or are we trying to create our own heaven here on earth?

Suzanna Maywald
Suzanna Maywald is a twelfth grade student (in the Indian national education system) from Hosur, Tamil Nadu, India. She is a pastor's kid with three siblings. She has been to Lebanon as an MK (missionary kid). Her hobbies are reading, writing, travelling, singing and working with children.

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