The Substance of Hope

The hope of catching a fish keeps the fisherman casting, but it isn’t what he eats for his supper.

The substance of hope- the outcome of it- is the tangible result that fills his belly. 

This summer, my kids have done a lot of fishing. They have probably hoped more than they’ve caught, but the hope is enough to keep them at the pond most evenings. After many lost lures, multiple pairs of wet boots, and one trip to the emergency room to remove a hook in the head, they still ask, “Can we go fishing tonight?”

We’ve also been listening to the audiobooks of “The Lord of the Rings.” This week, while we were snapping beans, Gandalf was saying, “I have spoken words of hope. But only of hope. Hope is not victory. War is upon us and all our friends…”

As a pastor’s wife, I often speak words of hope, but I know that hope is not victory. The hope of fish isn’t fish, so to speak.

The spiritual war is very real. War is upon us in the form of addictions, broken relationships, temptations to sin, and brokenness. Even while I hope in the Lord’s provision, I am tempted to tell lies. Even while I hope for freedom for a loved one caught in the painful cycle of drug addiction, I see the cycle beginning again and I am powerless to stop it.

We know only too well that hope is not victory, yet we ask each evening as we say our bedtime prayers, “Can we go fishing for victory tomorrow, God?” 

The writer to the Hebrews tells us that we must take hope one step further if we are to find victory: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Hope must blossom into faith if we are to have spiritual victory.

It is like growing cabbages. We have to plant a tiny, leafy plant that will one day produce cabbage at its core, so that we will be able to eat sauerkraut! The leaves are like hope, branching out and taking all of our time and attention, but at the core, the cabbage of faith is growing, layer by layer, founded on the hope that is rooted in firm soil. 

The more we plant our hope in the substantial soil of heavenly things, the more the fruit of faith grows, even unseen, right in the core of our hope. 

There is a couple in my church who are living a victorious Christian life after leaving a lifestyle of addiction and sin. This summer, they have taken other children into their home, cared for the physical needs of their neighbors, and been an integral part of ministry in our community. 

Their victory grew out of their faith in Christ. Their faith was founded on the hope that was first awakened in the dark depths of despair. 

No, hope may not be victory, “but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” so that we can daily live in expectation of the substance of hope.