College football’s bowl game season just ended. Since the fall, die hard fans (my house included) scream in the stands or at home from their couches, decked out in socks, hats, jerseys, shoes, face paint, earrings and more, all bearing the team’s colors and logo.
Why get all dressed up, have a party, and prepare to watch a game? It’s all about hope.
We hope that our team will win. We hope to see the players perform well. We hope they will advance to a playoff game.
Who starts watching any sporting event without some kind of hope? I mean, that would be depressing, don’t you think? There would be stands full of lackluster fans.
So, why don’t we approach life with the same kind of hope that we have when we’re cheering on our favorite team?
As we look to 2023, I believe that hope is the essential ingredient to keep us motivated.
I’ve been making a list of my hopes. For instance, I am hoping for an injury-free year so that I can ride my bike without pain in my hip, and I’m setting some goals for that. I am hoping to do more paddleboarding at the beach and hoping to learn how to make one of my favorite foods – sweet potato casserole.
Some people have more serious hopes that involve praying for a clean bill of health, a job, or a better financial situation.
The Bible states that without faith (also similar to hope) it is impossible to see God at work in our lives. I certainly believe that. We can’t see God, but he’s there, even in the most mundane details of our lives. And if we’re focused on looking, on hoping that we see Him, that can change us and our outlook.
I’m not saying that this is easy. Life is hard. A bad day can derail us. Hope in this life can feel impossible. And placing our ultimate hope in the people and things of this world will disappoint us.
But living our days with hope in God, who created hope and gives it to us as a gift, is certainly better than having no hope at all. Hope gives life purpose.
It reminds me of the song “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey, played often at sporting events to hype up the crowd. Those words ring true in many ways.
Jenny Writes 