Tag Archives: faith

Hope: A Strong Foundation

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Welcome back, my friends. It has come. The Christmas season is upon us again and Sunday past was the first Sunday of Advent. Traditionally, here at mittonmusings.com we celebrate the advent season with muses each week based on the theme of advent. And so, we are here again. As we mark the first week of preparation for the Christmas season, we look at HOPE. “I hope this… ” “I hope that….” “Hoping you do this or that…” Common phrases we hear all the time. Hope is familiar to us. Personally, I think hope is one of those emotions that has quite a wide range. Tiny, insignificant hopes to big life and death hopes. We “hope” for a good parking spot. Some “hope” for medical miracles. Others “hope” for a meal to fill their bellies. Hope is based on circumstance. Or is it?

Photo by Saad Chaudhry on Unsplash

Our circumstance is fleeting. Basing our hopes on dreams and desires can lead to disappointment and discouragement. Perhaps, hope needs to be concrete. Substantial. Tangible. Who gives us that tangible gift to cling to? Napoleon Bonaparte once said that “Leaders are dealers in hope.” Let’s muse there for awhile. What does a good leader give us? Motivation? A cause to rally for? We recently watched the first Gladiator movie with Russell Crowe. One of its themes is a leader is valuable and can woo the masses. I was struck by the similarities between the colosseum’s crowd and the mob at Jesus’ crucifixion. How we are easily swayed by group mentality and can be roused by others. Hope or destruction: it doesn’t matter. A good leader filters hope through his or her crew. An evil one breeds destruction and chaos.

The hope a leader feeds, however, must have a genuine substance. It must have a firm foundation. A solid belief that will propel the follower forward no matter what the circumstance. This is the advent Hope we celebrate. It is not a theory or philosophy or dream. It is a person. This is a vital and very distinct difference we see between believers and non-believers. Our hope is not based on circumstance or adaptable. It is a constant… through any circumstance, because we believe in God who is secure and stable through the uncertainty. He is faithful through it all. Certainly, we grieve. We travel through hills and valleys. Yet, our journey can be surrounded with hope because of the One who knows the future.

“The hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.”

Hebrews 6:19

The Hebrew word for Hope is tikvah meaning “expectation” or “cord”. The root word meaning “to wait for” or “bind”. We are awaiting the birth of our first grand baby. We ponder about will it be a boy or a girl? Will the baby be big or little? Will he or she have a full head of hair? How will the parents survive? (How did we get old enough to be grandparents?!) Most of us understand the concept of expectation as it relates to babies. We see where that hope is related. We hope in a bright future for our little one. Still, what about “bind” and the idea of cordage? To bind tight means stability. A hope, that when tested in circumstance, is unwavering. A necessary foundation to cling to when the going gets tough. An anchor in times of uncertainty. This is our Hope in Christ.

And so, my friends, as we enter another season of Christmas, I encourage you to put your Hope in the One who counts. The One who anchors our valleys and circumstances with a strong cordage. May the next few weeks of advent reflection start with Hope because it needs to be our foundation for the season. See you next week, my beloveds!

Want some more Hope? Here’s a few previous posts to put you in the advent mood:

The Ultimate Toolbox

The Advent Candle of Hope

How to Predict the Future

The Lessons of Psalm 1

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I was prompted this week to write a post on Psalm 1. I have no idea why. Perhaps somewhere out there someone needs to hear my rantings. This is not the usual way I begin musing about something. Often, an event happens here at the farm, or I hear or watch a video or talk about a verse or passage and it makes me think of something. Writers tend to have a plan… or at least a little inspiration. A creative venue for ideas to be born and flourish. A connection. Something to make you say…”Hmmnnn, I wonder”. For some reason, this week didn’t turn out that way… but I am going with it anyway.

In case you need a refresher, here is Psalm 1 in it’s entirety:

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

At first, I tried to find something within the verses to comment on. A thought, a “word from the Lord”, a deeper meaning. I’m stuck as to how to do this. Is it political? An election is happening in the USA… lots of controversy there. Do I make a comment on “sitting in the ways of the wicked?” Not my thing… nor my place. Do I take instruction from the “meditate day and night” part? True and encouraging statement. Still not where I am feeling it.

Obviously, out here in the rural Ontario rolling hills, there are a lot of trees. And at this time of year, the trees are withering. Fruit has been harvested, the season is over, and all the leaves have died and fallen to the ground. The hills are alive with the colour of not fruit, but death. Even the ones planted by the water! The chaff that the wind dries and blows away is all that’s left. I don’t get it either. The streams are getting ready to freeze over. My world right now is not the picturesque stream with weeping willows full of leaves and a sanctuary for all who find shelter underneath it’s full branches. All I see is dried up crunchy leaves and cold water surrounded by parched branches.

So, I’m sorry. Perhaps this was not one of my better posts. It’s not funny, or informative, or enlightening. It simply is. I have put it out there. Wrote it in black and white with every intention of being obedient to a prompting. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe we have been instructed to take a moment of “stillness”. There is plenty to unpack in these few verses. Many a preacher would spend an entire series of messages on council, meditation, being planted, fruit, prosperity, judgement, righteousness, and delighting in the Lord. And yet, I am not.

Maybe my role for this week is simply to post the words. Let the chips fall where they may. Remind you (and me) that the words are there. The leaves are there. They have piled up in wait for a new season of growth later. The streams of living water still has trees planted nearby. The wicked are still out there – in droves. We still need to meditate and understand that judgement is coming. And so, I have done my part. I posted it.

It’s your job to read it and muse in your own way this week, my friend. Gather your own thoughts and inspiration. Why not comment and let me know… what do you think?