hope in hard times
“Hope humbly then; with trembling pinions soar;
Wait the great teacher death, and God adore.
What future bliss, he gives not thee to know,
But gives that hope to be thy blessing now.
Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always to be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.”
-Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man
Hope lately feels like a weighted mist surrounding me. A breeze of reality blows through and hope recedes.”Hope deferred makes the heart sick,” or “Hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper.”
Are hope and faith the same?
The past year of my life has been consumed by this word HOPE. Instead of looking at the troubles of the world I have been instead looking for hope.
Does this mean I have faith? Is hope a non-believer’s version of faith? Is hope also a recognition of having little influence or control over an outcome? Is being hopeful the same as being faithful?
Hope is a trusting in an expectation. Faith is also a trust in someone of something, but leans in the direction of spirituality, something affecting the spirit or soul. Hope up against faith seems watered down.
To say I am hopeful is to expect something to turn out the way I want it to as in “I hope you are well” or “I hope to see you again.”
To have faith is to let go of the expectation but to be convinced by a building of trust in the outcome that is best.
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Jim,
I don’t know my Bible that well but I believe there is a passage in Hebrews: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Or try on the Aramaic translation since you are in that part of the woods: “Now faith is the conviction concerning those things that are in hope, as if it were these things in action, and the revelation of those things that are unseen”
In AA, they say “Hang On Pain Ends”. That nails it.
I don’t know where I’d be with out hope or faith. Perhaps wings of one bird.
Looking forward to your continual musings. They are quite inspiring.
November 29th, 2011 at 12:45 pmMarikay,
November 29th, 2011 at 1:22 pmYour comment gave me goose bumps. Your quotes from the bible are beautiful and well chosen. I like the idea of faith being the “evidence” of things we are unable to see.
A good friend of mine has been going to AA meetings for over 20 year and he has given me so much hope and faith over the past couple months. He always drinks (water) from a mug he got from “the meeting” that reads,“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” I can ask for nothing more than serenity, courage, and clairvoyance right now.
You will be in my thoughts Marikay. I will keep you updated.
Semi-clairvoyantly,
Jim