Waiting and hoping

Sometimes...many times...the thing that I'm hoping and waiting for never seems to come. That is when I remember the conviction of Psalm 130, v5: 

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I hope"

In the past, I've used this verse heavily in learning patience. This time, however, God convicted me about the second part. "In His Word I hope." It dawned on me then that one of the easiest and casual presumptions we make in life is to put our hope in things. "I hope I get that job." "I hope the manager likes me." "I hope I'm not late for that meeting." "I hope they get my food order right. "I hope I pass that test."

What this verse shows us though is that in each of those statements, hope is misplaced. We ought not to, and indeed should not, put our hope in anything other than the Word of God, because it is the only thing that is true, steadfast, and actually loves us back. Any time we place our hope in something temporal, or even ourselves, we are denying God's command to only put hope in Him. So whenever I catch myself, even casually saying something like, "I hope I didn't screw up my poached eggs," it's time to repent; not out of shame, but because repentance means the changing of one's mind from something untrue toward something that IS true (it is the Greek word metanoia). 

That's step one. Any time the mere thought of something that starts with, "I hope..." that needs to be set aside and replaced with what the Bible says - to hope in the Word, in the Gospel, in salvation.

Here is step 2, and this was key for me. There is a difference between hope and obedience. We often treat them interchangeably in practical ways. For example, if we believe God is leading us to do something, we hope that we do it well. But that isn't what the Word says. Hope is only designed for God and His Word. Obedience is different. 

Ephesians 2:10:

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This is what God has to say about our efforts. We don't put misplaced hope in them. Rather, when we think of the task at hand,, that is a good work that God specifically prepared in advance for us to do. Ergo, when we do that work out of obedience, Jesus has already declared it as 'good,' similarly to God's own declaration about His creation in Genesis 1. The completed task actually becomes an act of worship, and so when you complete even the most mundane thing that needs to be done like paying the bills, the simple obedience becomes worship, and through worship, joy springs forth.