In the corporate world, hope is not a strategy, but then God's not a CEO

My Spanish skills are sort of like Rick Perry's debating skills.  I'm trying to remember the right words for the situation without making a fool of myself.  But I frequently find myself struggling to express myself.  Combining hand gestures with broken Spanish is effective, kind of like Jingle Bells.  We'll get to where we're supposed to be going, but the other fellow is laughing all the way.

Several Spanish words have multiple uses, but the one that intrigued me was esperar.  This Spanish verb means to hope but can also mean to wait.  

Last Saturday we attended Vida Abundante, a rapidly growing evangelical church that meets in a tent in Cariari.  The pastor was a smooth, handsome amigo, who I enjoyed watching very much.  Trouble is, I didn't understand two percent of what he said.  His message went in one of my ears and out the other quicker than an Italian skipper abandons ship.  I listened carefully for use of the verb esperar but was unable to distinguish whether the pastor was talking about hoping or waiting.

So I went home and did a little study.  From what I've been taught during my years in church, here's what I believe to be true:

Hope, in Bible terms, is an anticipation of something that is certain.  It is not just wishing, but a confident assurance of something that hasn't happened yet, but certainly will happen.

Waiting, in Bible terms, is time spent before something happens.  How we wait is dependent on our maturity in Christ.  

Put another way, we hope that the Lord will reveal His plans to us.  We wait to hear from Him on the matter.  How certain our hope is and how patiently we wait are both functions of our maturity and our reliance on Him.

Let me show you this in scripture:

Romans 8:24-25 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Romans 5:3-5 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

In other words, our hope is for eternity in heaven.  It is certain that it will happen,  and if we know it is certain, our wait is a patient one.  Being certain comes from being tested.  No suffering then no character building.  No character building, little certainty.  All leading to a long, troubled wait.  Are you with me?

My family is excited to have been in Costa Rica for a second year in a row.  We can't believe that we only have 10 days left.  When we return to the United States, many things will have changed.  We know my employment will be different, and there is a potential that many other things in our lives will not be the same.

Vickie and I are praying each day that our hope will remain firm and our wait will be a patient one.  We know that the Lord will take us where he wants us to go, and we are waiting on Him to let us know where that will be.

As someone said, "I'm praying that a whole bunch of doors will be closed, but He'll leave a window open."  That is our prayer too.

Thank you for standing with us.