wait[ing] for hope to appear

May 3, 2011

^25-27God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It's a good thing when you're young
to stick it out through the hard times.

^28-29When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.

Lamentations 3:25-29 (the Message)

Now I definitely do not read the Message very much, but I saw this verse in this translation in an article I read recently and it particularly stuck out to me, especially that last line: wait for hope to appear. We all have hope, hope in God, hope in the future, hope in our plans, etc. But what if we're waiting for hope to appear? A job to appear out of countless interviews and resume-sending? A school acceptance letter amidst the many rejections? An appropriate mission trip or ministry field? A spouse? A family? It's difficult, and it's something I believe we all must go through and learn the process of.

In the last few weeks, I had been looking for a roommate for the next school year. I had a couple of options and some of the options that came up seemed so much like it was what God had willed for me, but many of those options very quickly went away as people decided on cheaper apartments, etc. The most difficult thing was having those options, feeling like God had PROVIDED, and then realizing that it was ultimately not what was to work out. Last Sunday, I had pretty much been praying and hoping for a positive response, but when I got back from church, I received emails telling me that they had ultimately settled on a cheaper option. I was crushed because I realized I had no options left. No hope in sight because I knew no one at the moment who was still looking for an apartment. It was a terrible feeling realizing I had no idea what I was going to do, and feeling quite hopeless as there are only a few weeks of school left. It was that 'waiting for hope to appear' that was difficult. I wasn't as stressed when I had options, but when they all seemed to disappear, I was left to wait for something to appear and that was not fun.

I'm glad that a few hours later though, one of the girls called and said she had changed her mind and would live with me. It was a huge relief. But I learned a few things from the roommate hunt/ordeal.

1. It's one thing to have hope and wait for it, it's another to be waiting for it to appear. I liken it to the difference between being stranded on an island but being told help was on the way and being stranded on an island but waiting for someone to happen along the way to rescue you.

2. "

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks."

God provides. Even when there seems to be no hope, patient waiting, diligent seeking is rewarded by God.

3. Sometimes the hope that appears will not go through. It will not be what you're looking/waiting for, and there'll require some more waiting. It is crucial to know that even when things fall through and what you thought was God's provision or plan turned out not to be that way that we believe and trust that God is still working and still guiding. Something even better is going to come along. And it will be wonderful!

I'm so glad that I found a roommate. I'm still learning to fully trust and rely on God with everything, even when there seems to be no hope in sight of what it is I'm waiting for. But I trust and know that God is sovereign and that I must learn to be patient and wait for what He will bring about for the glorification of his name.