This year’s theme for our Choose Conferences is Hope.
The word for hope in Hebrew is Tikvah, and it has a rich, deep meaning. In Hebrew the word means expectation, and it also means cord or rope, which comes from a root word that means to bind or to wait for or upon. Another way to say it is:
Tikvah - A cord of hope!
How powerful that image is. My hope, or expectation, in the Lord is as solid as a cord binding me to Him. A cord that rescues me. A cord connected firmly to the cross that I can hold onto for dear life!
The hope that we place in the Lord connects our heart to His. We can be confident placing our hope in Him because the Lord is a rock.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
There are times I can read this verse with my eyes and wonder where my prosperity is. Where is my job, my career, my purpose? I can wonder and question how His plan is not to harm me when I have gone through divorce, miscarriage, loss, breast cancer…so much pain and hurt.
But then I read the first line again. With my my heart firmly attached to my cord of hope, Jesus, I see that He knows the plans He has for me. Not the plans I have for me. Not the plans I have wished for myself.
His plans.
For me.
He has plans…it’s up to me to trust that. It always boils down to trust.
I can look through His eyes and see how I have prospered in the midst of my life. I have many friends and support systems. I have a home that provides me security and safety from the elements. I have a family that loves me and cares for me. I am blessed!
Through God’s eyes, I have prospered and am protected. That in and of itself gives me hope and a future. And all of that is possible because I choose to trust His plan and hold on firmly to His cord of hope, my Tikvah.
The amazing thing is that’s just what I imagine His eyes see. All the little things and big things I am sure I miss everyday with my human eyes are seen by His. And I trust that He’s taking care of it all.
All I have to remember to do is get out of His way…to let His eyes guide my life instead of relying on my own limited vision.
I need to Choose Hope! I can do that because Jesus is my Tikvah, my cord of hope!
With love and joy,
Laura