Devotion
February 2003
Wish – To desire something
Suspect – To believe something to be so.
Hope – To expect something
What do you wish for? A new Harley, Honda or Ducati? A bigger bike? World peace? A new set of leathers? Do you have any reason to believe that you are going to get what you wish for? Is it your birthday? Has someone been nosing around about what you might like to have?
I have a friend named Dave that wanted a new Harley Standard. He had wished for one most of his adult life but realized that it was a lot of money and he had a perfectly good bike so why should he get another one. He just wished he could have it. Then Cheryl got him the Standard. Cheryl is his wife. They have been married for 25 years and she wanted to do something special for him so she decided that this was it. He suspected nothing. She had bought it and it was hidden in a storage unit just around the corner from their house.
Most of us wish that God would do what we want but when we find out that He had a different plan we might get angry or disappointed. Imagine if Dave wanted a new bike but thought that he just could not afford the Standard. Now he had decided to get something else but Cheryl told him that she didn’t think it was a good idea. In fact, she ‘put her foot down’ and said that she didn’t want him to get a new bike right now. Now Cheryl’s reasons were for Dave’s own good but Dave didn’t know that. Yet. How do you think Dave might be feeling?
If Dave suspected the truth, he might have felt different. Do you suspect the truth? Dave suspected nothing. Now if he had, he might believe that he was going to get the bike he really wanted but he really did not have any evidence that he was going to get it. Maybe Cheryl had accidentally left the sales brochure lying on the kitchen table. Now there is a reason to suspect something. Usually we have to have some evidence that something is true before we suspect it.
Do you have reasons in your life to suspect that God cares about you? That He wants to do something good in your life? Think about the last year, month, week or even day. Did God do something for you? Did He teach you something that you needed to know? It is not always pleasant as the time but it will be in the long run. If we begin to add up the evidence we see perhaps we can just plan on things working out for our good. That is what hope is all about.
Now if Dave were to have even more evidence about the bike, like perhaps a strange phone call on the caller ID from the local Harley dealer or a receipt for some piece of chrome that Cheryl bought that only fits a Standard, he might have a reason to hope after all. Now he begins to put 2 and 2 together. Their anniversary is coming up, Cheryl is acting kinda strange, you know, smiling a lot when she looks at Dave or changing the subject of a conversation on the phone when he walks into the room.
He still is not certain but he begins to have hope. Now after 25 years of marriage, he certainly can have faith in Cheryl. She has proven herself over and over again to be trust worthy. He knows that she always has his interests in mind and cares about him more than anyone on earth so it is easy to hope for something good. He may not know all the details yet but he has confidence that she loves him and will do something good for him.
God is like that. Over and over again He cares for us. You all have stories that you can tell, in fact, why don’t some of do just that in a minute. I think it will encourage all of us to hear what God is doing for each of us.
In 1Tim6:17 it says “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” For our enjoyment??? Is that possible???
Do you think that Dave is going to enjoy that new motorcycle? I would. Well, if it was a Honda I might enjoy it more 🙂 but you get the point. I have been a practicing Christian for over 20 years (yeah, still practicing) and I can tell you that God cares for me and I am sure that He cares for you. In fact it says in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Who do you put your hope in? Put it in God who cares for His children and will provide everything for our enjoyment.
Now, what has God done in your lives lately?
Jerry Robertson
Chaplain CMA Crossties