Take Two (renewed)
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness, Psalm 33:18 NASB 1995
Hope – Yesterday we reviewed an investigation that is ten years old. Ten years ago we were thinking about “hope” as expectant trust in God. Not in His actions on our behalf. Not in His effort to correct the mess that the world faces. No, biblical hope isn’t about jubilant outcomes. In fact, it’s not about outcomes at all. It’s about character, in particular, the character of the Most High. Hope is trusting that He’s in control, even if we can’t see how.
We learned all this ten years ago, but now I wonder if it’s made any real difference ten years after. I wonder if we still wish for better times. I wonder if we’re still discouraged by the reign of evil around us. I wonder if we don’t really want to escape all this chaos. I wonder if we think God has given up on us to due the trajectory of mankind. It certainly seems so, doesn’t it? Heschel wrote the following terrible reminder: “We are frightened by a world that God may be ready to abandon. What a nightmare to live in a cosmic life, in an absurdity that makes pretensions to beauty.”[1] In the end, hope has to be more than wish-fulfillment. If it’s not, then what happens when I stake everything on my version of hope and it doesn’t happen? Yes, I know that God is in charge, but that’s theory. The practical part is a lot harder.
Frankly, I find it almost impossible to let God be in charge. I’m always trying to take back a little control. He just doesn’t show up fast enough to handle my problems. His solutions take centuries. I don’t have centuries to wait. My issues are pressing on me now, and trusting that He will intervene in two or three hundred years is little comfort. That’s what’s depressing about the biblical narrative. It takes forever. How many millennia passed between God’s promise to Abraham and Isreal’s recovery of the Land? How long did the evil ways of the kings continue until God brought the kingdom to ruin? How long do we have to wait for the Messiah? Yes, of course, mercy matters. Deadlines are extended—and extended again. If they weren’t, we would probably all be in trouble. But the other side of the coin is that all this timemeans those things I hope for don’t come about. What does that mean for me? When I look at my behavior from the outside, do I really see someone who is confidently waiting? Unfortunately, no. I see someone who wants the solutions now, who springs for action, and who reaches for the nearest emotional anesthetic when overwhelmed. Heaven is out of reach from the abandoned earth. It’s theological schizophrenia. The doctrine insures me God cares. The daily routine says I’m on my own. It’s nice to read Gilchrist’s comment: “Not only does ‘hope’ bring relief from present problems, but also in the eschatological sense ‘hope’ in God’s help and ultimate salvation will bring to an end all distress,”[2] but too often those words sound like fairy tales rather than hard reality. If I have to wait for a future life to find resolution, then what good is hope now? Is it more than an emotional pacifier? Well, I hope so.
Topical Index: hope, yahal, Psalm 33:18
[1] Abrahm Heschel, A Passion for Truth, p. 320.
[2] Gilchrist, P. R. (1999). 859 יָחַל. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 374). Moody Press.
