The Difference Between a Wish and Hope
"Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD."
(Psalm 31:24 NIV)
YOU’RE THE STRONGEST PERSON I know.” “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” “
Stay strong.” We throw the word strong around as if we know what it means, just like the word hope. “I hope things work out.” “Hope you have a good day.” “She has high hopes.”
Both strong and hope are kind of vogue.
They are nice concepts that make us feel good.
But what is hope? And what does it have to do with strength?
When I worked at DaySpring Cards, I had a mentor named Roy. We were talking about addiction one day, and he said, “I’d like to challenge you to use the word hope instead of wish.
A wish is a nice thought, but there’s no power in wishing.
But hope—hope is grounded in Jesus. We hope people get well. We hope they are comforted.
We hope their marriage is blessed. Hope matters because it is attached to Jesus.
Wishing blows in the wind. But hope is strong regardless of the circumstances.”
That conversation has influenced my thinking ever since. It helped me understand where strength comes from—which is not from ourselves.
Jesus is the connection between hope and strength.
So, when I encourage someone to be strong, it’s not just empty words. I’m saying, “Put your hope in Jesus.”
If someone tells me I am strong, I acknowledge that what makes me strong is that I have hope in something—Someone—greater than myself: the One who has overcome the world.
—GWEN FORD FAULKENBERRY
FAITH STEP:
Challenge yourself to use the word hope instead of wish. Every time you need strength today, remember the source of our hope—Jesus—and draw from Him."
(Shared from “Mornings With Jesus Devotional”)
"Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD."
(Psalm 31:24 NIV)
YOU’RE THE STRONGEST PERSON I know.” “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” “
Stay strong.” We throw the word strong around as if we know what it means, just like the word hope. “I hope things work out.” “Hope you have a good day.” “She has high hopes.”
Both strong and hope are kind of vogue.
They are nice concepts that make us feel good.
But what is hope? And what does it have to do with strength?
When I worked at DaySpring Cards, I had a mentor named Roy. We were talking about addiction one day, and he said, “I’d like to challenge you to use the word hope instead of wish.
A wish is a nice thought, but there’s no power in wishing.
But hope—hope is grounded in Jesus. We hope people get well. We hope they are comforted.
We hope their marriage is blessed. Hope matters because it is attached to Jesus.
Wishing blows in the wind. But hope is strong regardless of the circumstances.”
That conversation has influenced my thinking ever since. It helped me understand where strength comes from—which is not from ourselves.
Jesus is the connection between hope and strength.
So, when I encourage someone to be strong, it’s not just empty words. I’m saying, “Put your hope in Jesus.”
If someone tells me I am strong, I acknowledge that what makes me strong is that I have hope in something—Someone—greater than myself: the One who has overcome the world.
—GWEN FORD FAULKENBERRY
FAITH STEP:
Challenge yourself to use the word hope instead of wish. Every time you need strength today, remember the source of our hope—Jesus—and draw from Him."
(Shared from “Mornings With Jesus Devotional”)
