Chapter six of John Ortberg’s Faith and Doubt is titled “Everybody Hopes.” And we do. We wish on all kinds of things, carry rabbits’ feet and snap turkey bones. We blow out our birthday candles. Jiminy Cricket sings, “When you wish upon a star….”
But there are two kinds of hope – the first being to hope for something, and the second to hope in someone. Ortberg writes, “One day – and this is the truth – everything we hope for will eventually disappoint us. Every circumstance, every situation that we hoped for is going to wear out, give out, fall apart, melt down, go away. And when that happens, the question then is about your foundational hope. What we need is someone we can put our hope in.” Faith requires belief, but it must also have hope.
We discussed the history of the Israelites, wandering in the desert, carrying the ark of the covenant. They lose battles and wonder where God is. Finally, deliverance came in a way that nobody was looking for – not in a box, but in a man. The word became flesh, and that man was Jesus, who tabernacled among us. This time, though, death wasn’t defeat. Our faith hinges on the third day. History shows man to live through one downturn after another. Are we awake, we wonder? Are we paying attention?
