Hope vs Optimism

The secularization of our society has incurred an ever increasing rise in our tendency to view hope as mere optimism. Hope defined in the Cambridge online dictionary defines it as "something good that you want to happen in the future, or a confident feeling about what will happen in the future" (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=37879&dict=CALD).
Now, note the same dictionary's definition for optimism: "being hopeful and emphasizing the good part of a situation rather than the bad part; the belief that good things will happen in the future" (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=55769&dict=CALD). Now, please understand that the purpose of this blog is not to undermine positive thinking and optimism, I am very much a glass-half-full person; however, the purpose of this blog is to illustrate that hope and optimism are not one in the same thing.

Consider the definition of hope, as this is where I find the flaw causing our confusion. Naturally, on the basis of an individual learning english, this is an accurate definition, but consider this from a spiritual angle. Notice how it is something you want to happen. This has become an unfortunate default for us as Christians living in a secular society.

Our hope has become a desire for God to fulfill a promise that He never made, and when we perceive that God has failed by not fulfilling our "hopes", we become caught up in disappointment and self-pity. We lose sight of what God IS doing, and set our eyes and hearts instead upon what He hasn't done, and what (in our increasingly cynical ways we perceive) He "probably won't do".

We are not in line with God's hopes for us. Some people may argue that God doesn't "hope", He controls everything; but one should be quick to notice how eating from the tree of knowledge was a choice made by Eve. It is not to say that God couldn't have His way if He wanted to, only that He chooses not to be tyrannical, but kind, loving and gracious as a true father. Thus the furthering of His kingdom is an inevitability, but our roles in that is something which God hopes that we will choose to commit our lives to, something that we will intentionally choose into rather than sitting back on the sinful default.

It is an issue of being hopeful of the fulfillment of God's heart for this world, a place where our hearts should also be. This does not mean forcing yourself to desire God's kingdom coming, nor to become hyper-spiritual over something that does not ignite you inside. It is an issue of wanting to desire His kingdom, it is an issue of asking for His grace, so that the hard parts in life have a purpose, and that achieving the purpose is worth its difficulty while in the knowledge that God has put you there and therefore that He will overcome. The desire of our hearts when all else is stripped away is the true painting of our hope in Jesus. The mere act of asking for Him, asking for the hunger and desire, is in itself a hopeful act. Knowing that God HAS fulfilled, and subsequently WILL fulfill is our starting point. Disappointments often (though not always) arise from selfish desire. It's time to start looking out of the body and into HIS heart.

"With vision, comes God's provision" - James Denison 04/01/2010. May we begin to see the vision God has for our lives, that our hope may be in line with His purpose for us. May the sense of God fulfilling His promises ring in our lives, in our relationships, in our homes. But may we also remember that this is a battlefield, there is a spiritual war going on every second of our lives, and God is fighting for us, and He will win, He will overcome our giants, if only we'll get out of His way.