What does HOPE look like? Maybe hope has a different look for different people. Our perspectives are all different. Maybe hope looks differently in certain settings.

The one constant with real hope is our Father. Without Him…without His Son…without Holy Spirit…what we believe to be hope is actually false hope or possibly a slick substitute. One attribute of true hope is that it is walked out…lived out in our life, day by day.

How do we exhibit the hope that lives in our heart? Here is one story…

After an honorable discharge from the Navy after WWII my Dad returned home. He had been in the North Atlantic protecting the Merchant Marine. After Hitler’s defeat, he and so many others returned to New York City. Then they were put on trains to travel to San Francisco. From there, he served in the Pacific until the end of the war.

At home, my Mom had worked, cared for her mother who was recovering from a heart attack…all after losing her husband. She was a war widow. Her husband lost his life in the line of duty. They were married for only 10 months.

When Mom and Dad met, they had lived more in their short lives than others lived in 80 or 90 years. Only in their 20s, they had lived through the Great Depression and the Second World War. They had lost loved ones and friends…and now, what could life possibly hold?

After “courting” for a while, they knew they wanted to marry and began preparations for a life together. Dad began cutting pine timber and sawmilling lumber to build a house. For two years before they married, they saved all their nickels, dimes, and quarters they received in change during the week. They put the change in gallon jars. They wanted a two-week honeymoon in Miami. This is how they paid for the trip. In 1948, a two-week honeymoon in Miami in the middle of December was a big deal. 

I tell this family story because they lived out the hope in their hearts before us. Like so many other young people of their generation, they lived courageously. Coming through hard circumstances they moved forward exhibiting their faith in God and the hope in this life and the next. So this, for our family, is the way Hope looked in 1948.

Sometimes, the hope we have in Yeshua is quietly lived out and other times it is big. But we can always live our lives confidently carrying the hope He has placed in our hearts. He will be with us. He will lead us. And He will give us a good hope in Him. Live out your hope before your loved ones and the world. 

How will your Hope be lived out in 2025?