Crave

Hope is a funny thing. Like a craving, it's such an internal thing, yet it affects all the external stuff too. My hopes, though no one know what they are, affect my friendships, my choices, my conversations and often the expressions on my face.

And I think that that internality [not a word, but let's go with it] is what causes so much disappointment between people. It's something I've written about before, that when our hopes are not met we are left heartsick.

Like if you didn't know that I was really hoping you'd give me a hug, I probably won't get the hug so you defer my hope. If you didn't know that I hoped you'd be here, it's likely you won't be so there goes my hope again. Silly examples, but do you get what I'm saying? Hopes are being crushed daily; hopes that no one even knew existed.

Also, my hopes are different to your hopes. If you could read my mind and see my hopes, you'd probably be surprised and perplexed by them. In fact, they tend to surprise even me. But something that I so love about Jesus is that He knows the secrets of my heart [Psalm 44:21]. He knows the desires of my heart [Psalm 37:4]. My hopes don't surprise Jesus. He's not perplexed by what I desire. He knows me [Psalm 139].

And not only does He know all my hopes, but Jesus is the fulfillment of every hope.
When I hope for love, He is love [1 John 4:16].
When I hope that someone will listen, God hears my cry [Isaiah 65:24].
When I hope for my future, God has already planned it for me [Jeremiah 29:11].
When I hope that I can face the day, Jesus gives me courage for He has overcome [John 16:33].
When I have no hope left, He is my hope [Colossians 1:27].

Hope is what we crave.
Hope is what Jesus gave.