UPFRONT April 28, 2008 Issue

Hope for the best

MAIKE BYRD, CHILDREN'S EDITOR

"Let's hope for the best," you frequently hear people say, when they express their desire that things will turn out well. We hope for a wish to come true, for something promising to be fulfilled in the future, for good to happen to us in hard times.

According to most dictionaries, one meaning of hope is "to trust," or "to put your confidence in something." Some suggest its root is connected to the word hop, conjuring up images of a child skipping excitedly in anticipation of something good and rewarding taking place. As hope is used in the Bible, it describes a deep trust in God and His goodness, such as in this verse from Psalms: "Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God" (Ps. 42:5, 6, New Revised Standard Version). No wishful thinking or maybe's here—just certainty that God is, and that He is always there to provide and heal.

Recently a friend forwarded to me an Internet chain letter about the 23rd Psalm. In it, each verse of the Psalm was equated with a specific spiritual quality, such as healing, protection, purpose. For verse 5—"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (NRSV)—it said, "That's hope!"

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