Why Not Hope?

"We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

Hope is a great topic for the first of each year. The slate is blank, and we have nothing but hope. Perhaps there is some baggage, some unresolved past, but hope can even address these. The past is the past.

Hope, real hope, is not a wish but a certainty that requires both belief and action. We can hope for good weather, but there is nothing we can do to make it happen. Hope is not a feeling or an emotion. Hope is the knowledge of facts. To have a biblical hope is to have a sure anchor of the soul.

Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish a desire with anticipation." Hope does not come as a result of doing nothing but as the result of specific actions based upon what we know.

This is where the pursuit of TRUTH becomes essential. I know that things can change in my life, I know that there is a plan for my life, and I also know that change will not occur based upon my own actions. I must desire to change and take specific actions to do so, but this alone is not enough. These actions must be dedicated to achieving a higher purpose, the purpose for which I was created.

So why not hope? Why not pursue something I was made to do? Why not believe in the TRUTH of my life?