Heavy Words

Words can become very heavy, and yet remain with such delicacy. A word and its interpretation, and all the ideas that follow can lead to great discoveries about how you have always looked at that word and how you look at it now..a symbol of the great changes one goes through in life, a sort of progression.

There are a few words, ( though they them seem to multiply in definition) circling around in my mind at this time; Hope, Faith, and Trust. These words carry so much weight, that even in typing them, I rearranged them in a significant order and capitalized them to show that they are indeed heavy words.

Hope

Hebrews 6:19-20
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

This has always been a favorite verse of mine, partly because of its nautical reference and my slight fascination with anchors and ships. Mostly because of the "anchor for the soul" part. I felt ( at that time in my life) that my hope was all that I had... note, I made it MY hope.

Faith.

As believers, we profess our Faith. We have Faith in someone we can not see, but who in testimony, have seen His works in our lives. We have witnessed His miracles, and interventions in our lives. We have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, and we have accepted His word as truth. Our Faith makes room for our Hope to gain strength. Earlier, I emphasized that it was my hope, that was an anchor to my soul. My Faith was built on this hope, for a very long time, even to recent times.

Hebrews 11:1
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Trust

from the Merriam Webster dictionary ;
1 a: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something b: one in which confidence is placed.

To Trust someone, anyone is to say, " I have no doubt in my mind or heart that you will come through for me to the best of your ability"...for example, we put our trust in Doctors and their staff to do all that they can to save our lives....
To say we trust someone is to say " I believe your intentions are good, and that you are not out to hurt me..." we get hurt most when we put our trust in someone and they misuse that.. " I TRUSTED him/her, how could he/she do this?"

Psalm 62:8
"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah"



A new meaning

Hope...
As stated earlier.. I had this idea that it was MY hope that was an anchor to my soul.. and it was very much my anchor.. and I was far from being anchored..."This Ship" was swaying back and forth and unable to reach the harbor...( God's presence ) basically... this anchor was weak.
In reading and in conversation with friends about this verse ( one friend specifically explained this verse to me...)

Hebrews 6:19-22
19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

From my understanding...in the these times, the inner sanctuary was a place where only high priests were allowed to be "close to God", and the heavy curtains kept others out. Jesus went before us, entering on our behalf... further solidifying that Jesus is the only way to God...

In reading, ( The Quest Study Bible) I understood that we are the ship close to harbor, but for whatever reason, be it tides, fog, unsteady water, we are unable to get to the harbor ( God's presence), Jesus comes to us as another ship, bringing an anchor to the harbor, to get us there. Our soul anchored to God, through Jesus and His promise for us.

All this time, I was using MY hope as an anchor... it's no wonder my heart has been without peace... it's no wonder I have been so scared, and so worried.. and so incredibly impatient.
I have been so unaware that My hope was so fragile...
"I hope for the best.." "I hope he doesn't fall" "I hope I don't get hurt..." " I hope we get through this.." I---meaning my hope... is very unsecured...
I was placing this hope in my relationship with God... " I hope He is real.." " I hope He gets me through this"

Hebrews 11:11
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

FAITH is being SURE of our hope...

How can we get this certainty?

Its in Heb 6:19.... HE is our Hope...
HE gives us Hope.. it is not our own natural, very human, very weak hope, but His Hope... just as we would ask for His Strength when ours fails us.. just as we ask for His Peace.. when our hearts want to explode... just as we ask for His Joy when there is no sign of joy. Seek not our own ... but instead for His.

My journey as a believer has very little evidence of my Trusting in God. I've been impatient in His will for me, I have been scared and worried most of my life, I have taken things into my own hands and have broken them, as "careful" as i thought i was with them. In that i have been slowly breaking myself..a product of not TRUSTING in God. I have been using my hope..and that has given very little fuel for faith.. though it has been there. All this leads to a life lacking Trust in God..
I can only compare this to a parent-child relationship. The relationship is there... The parent is the parent and the child is the child.. you can't argue that.
But how often to do we not trust our parents? Our juvenile minds question them.. and don't listen to them.. even when it is known that they have the best intentions for us...but they are still our parents, and while we acknowledge that, we don't trust them and their advice...

He is our Father. We should Trust him. He knows us, more than we know ourselves.. who better to guide us through the rough waters and dark paths?


Romans 15:13

13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.