Hope is something, but it is not enough to sustain you. Hope is just a glimmer. It is better to know than to hope. Hope has a disclaimer with it. Hope says that maybe something you want is going to happen. Maybe. It could. It might. There’s a chance, if you’re lucky. Hope is more like holding on to a thread.
A thread of hope is better than nothing. Hope lets a little light come in. Even to have an idea of a blessing to come is a good thing. Yet hope is a weak thing. Better to pull the shades up all the way.
As it is, hope carries a percentage of doubt with it. Can you imagine My saying to you: “I hope you get over your cold. I hope you pass your test. I hope there will be world peace some day.” A little lukewarm coming from Me, wouldn’t you say? So is the wimpiness of hope.
If I were you, I would carry much more hope than the word hope gives you. Hope is lack-luster. I know a better word, more like a marketing word. It is sure to wake you up. It is sure to put stars in your eyes.
Desire is a word that carries more zip with it than hope. Desire is a wonderful word that exhilarates. I am all for your desiring all that you desire. Who should desire all that you do desire more than you? Desire is stronger than limping hope.
But there is another aspect I must point out, and you may not like it. You do not have to have everything you hope for! You do not have to have everything you desire. All your desires do not have to be fulfilled. You may think you would like total fulfillment of desires, but, you know, you have heard of poor little rich girls who get everything they want. Desires fulfilled so rampantly are not so fulfilling. This definitely is so when your desires are all about you.
So now I emphasize four more points:
1. Know that you can be in good standing, and still all your desires may not be fulfilled. It is not a bad mark against you when your desires are not fulfilled the way you would like or as soon as you would like.
2. You may want to expand on your desires. If you desire a new dress, odds are you will have to go to a store and buy it. If you desire a happier home, desire that you find ways to make your home happier. If you desire to make a home run, desire to hit the ball hard and to run fast. Desire is greater than just making a list of your desires.
3. Along with being a desirer, you want to be an appreciator. Here is a very good line: “Thank You, God, for all the blessings You are about to give.” “Thank You, God, for this meal.” “Thank you, Mom, for this meal.” Ah, beloveds, even if you can say: “Thank You, God, for this ache in my heart,” that is far better than feeling neglected or sore about it.
What if even heartache is a blessing? It has to be. In heartache, a different kind of opportunity is being presented to you. A different vision is being presented to you. What is the gold in even heartache? In years to come, you will see the beatitude of it. What brings heartache, beloveds, but a lack of comprehension and vision? Heartache will whisper its greater meaning to you, even when that may seem impossible. Even heartache has hope with it.
4. No longer fight so hard. Be easy-going.