Words are funny things. In a sense, we depend upon them for all of our communication. When I write an email to someone or write a post on this blog, I am exercising great faith that you will understand the meaning of the words on the screen. If, for example, you were just learning English and you understood that every time I wrote “Love you” at the end of an email I really meant “You’re a fatty”, then there would be some frustration. I remember a dear missionary friend who always said, in the foreign tongue, “I gotta just keep my eyes on Jesus!” and then one day realized with horror that she had been saying, “I gotta just keep my eggs on Jesus!” Words mean things. But the sad part is that often our words become defined by the World instead of by God’s Word. Love for example. The world would say that two people engaging in a one-night-stand after drinking too much in a bar are “making love”. God’s definition is a little different.
But this is the one that got me recently. As you know I’m studying for this retreat, and one of the main topics is understanding disappointment. We frequently think, “I got disappointed because I got my hopes up.” So our strategy is to not “get our hopes up” so that we won’t get disappointed. Therefore in the world’s dictionary, we might read: “Hope = Disappointment.” These are the words we use. However, let’s look at God’s Word as our dictionary (I think you see where I’m going). What is the ONE thing we KNOW about hope from Scripture? Romans 5:5, “Now hope does not disappoint”. This is God’s definition of hope. God’s definition isn’t tied to expectations, circumstances, or result. True hope, as defined by God’s Word, does not disappoint.
So this is a fabulous way to determine if I’m hoping God’s way. This morning something happened that caused a mild disappointment. It wasn’t a big deal, but it caused me to realize that I was hoping as the world hopes–in an outcome–rather than as God’s Word tells me to hope–in His beautiful sovereignty and goodness.
Let’s use God’s Word as our dictionary, and define our words, and lives, by His way.