January 2, 2013

Hope

Every Wednesday, 6:30 PM - 7:50 PM

Hope is for those who are experiencing emotional pain associated with troubled relationships, divorce, bereavement, broken dreams, and other difficult life circumstances.  Childcare is provided from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (prior to Bible class time).  Children participate in age appropriate classes from 7:00 to 7:50.

For more information, call Elise Thompson at 972-679-2167 or the church office at 972-727-2359.

More than Wishful Thinking

I hear the word hope being tossed around today as much as and maybe even more than love.  Do we really know what it means to hope? Or have we allowed the meaning of hope to be watered down and diluted into a commonness that has very little impact on our daily lives?  Sadly, I talk with people almost daily who place very little value on hope.

Several years ago I was asked to elaborate on the difference between hope and wishful thinking. At first I thought the answer to be simple, however; distinguishing the difference between hope and wishful thinking in a society where the words like hope and love are being abused by overuse proved to be more difficult than I anticipated.  How many times a day do we say, “I hope…?”  Do we really mean to say, “I trust and believe that my desire will occur sometime in the future?”  Or are we really saying, “I desire for something good to happen, but I won’t count on it happening.”  I have come to believe that doubt is the difference between wishful thinking and hope.           

The dictionary defines wish as a deep desire or longing.  If you will permit, I would like to define wishful thinking as doubtfully longing. Hope, on the other hand, is faithfully longing.   Larry Crabb describes hope as “waiting on Christ.” This description is especially meaningful to me because it often seems that the hard times in life are characterized by waiting.  During the times of waiting on Christ, we can faithfully trust that Christ will guide, comfort and sustain until the time of challenge is past.                      

In Christ, we have so much more than wishful thinking!

Serving together, 

Elise Thompson

Wednesday Night Bible Classes

Every Wednesday, 7:00 PM - 7:50 PM