Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today let’s gain an understanding that hope is substantive.

[1] Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Consider…
Hope and wish have very similar meanings. We use them to express our desire for something different from how it is now. In a nutshell, hope mainly expresses a desire that is possible or likely to happen. Wish usually expresses a desire that is impossible or unlikely to happen.

This makes me think of the Rose Royce singing group lyrics…

I’m wishing on a star
To follow where you are
I’m wishing on a dream
To follow what it means
And I wish on all the rainbows that I see
I wish on all the people who really dream
And I’m wishing on tomorrow, praying it’ll come
And I’m wishing on all the lovin’ we’ve ever done

In addition to wishing on a star, I also think of people who look for answers from unreliable sources rather than God. Such as people who…

• Read their horoscope rather than read God’s Holy Word. (Psalm 119:105)
• Consult psychics rather than follow the teachings of the Savior. (Matthew 7:24-27)
• Put their faith in the stock market rather than in the Sovereign God. (Hebrews 13:5-6)

All of this reminds me of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:19-21 (KJV), which was…
[19] Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: [21] for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

I humbly submit that trusting in earthly treasures is like wishing on undependable and unpredictable resources. That’s because as Isaiah 40:8 (KJV) says…
[8] The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Accordingly, I encourage us to live with a Heavenly hope. That’s because as Proverbs 23:17-18 (NLT)
advises…
[17] Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD. [18] You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.

This verse just made me think about people wishing for another’s glory without knowing their story. For example, before Tyler Perry became the mega star, he testifies that he was homeless living out of his car.

While writing that I heard Jonathan McReynolds singing…

You spend all night admiring pictures
They make life look perfect as they should
But you don’t know the picture’s story
And how long it took to make it good
It makes you consider shoes you don’t like
But when that shoe doesn’t fit
Wear what you will
Despite how they feel
Comparison kills

The grass was fine
Until it looked greener on the other side
Now you’re believing that you fell behind
But why try to match what should be one of a kind
You’re one of a kind

We all want to be successful
And get mad when God’s not in a rush
Waste your time just making copies
You’ll see you did not accomplish much

Pressure gets hot
And with heat come mirages
So you think it’s cool over there
Your thirst is real
But water can’t fill
What comparison kills
He feels what you feel
So ask God to heal
What comparison kills

The Holy Spirit used these lyrics to illustrate the point that wishing often is wanting what others have, whereas hoping is us desiring what God has.

The thought of desiring what God has pressed play on Miami Mass Choir singing…

What God has for me, it is for me
What God has for me, it is for me

I know without a doubt
That He will bring me out;
What God has for me, it is for me

It is for me
It is for me;
What God has for me, it is for me

Before writing today’s post I used these lyrics to encourage folks that God had wealth and health in store for them. However the Holy Spirit has transformed my thinking to see that was just religious wishing. By that I mean believing what we want to believe because it physically benefits me.

The Holy Spirit continued my substantive hope understanding by showing me the substance of our hope is God himself. The Holy Spirit did this by connecting today’s scripture that defines faith as substantive hope with Hebrews 11:6 (KJV), which says…
[6] But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

My new found understanding helps me see that wishing makes us wantingly wait but hope makes us diligently seek.

Okay let me provide a tangible example. Wishing for someone else’s job that seems amazing is simply daydreaming, but hoping for a job that has been posted makes you fill out an application and go on an interview.

The same is true with our view of God. Some people see God as a jeanie who exists to fulfill their wishes. God responded to these people in James 4:2-3 (NLT), which says…
[2] You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. [3] And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

The Holy Spirit pointed out the fact that Brother James wrote this to believers. We know that’s true because he continues in James 4:4-5 (NLT)…
[4] You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. [5] Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.

God wants us to be desire Him not what He has given them (others/the world).

Speaking of desiring God, the Holy Spirit is leading me to close today’s post with Psalm 37:4-9 (KJV), which says…
[4] Delight thyself also in the LORD; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. [5] Commit thy way unto the LORD; Trust also in him; And he shall bring it to pass. [6] And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, And thy judgment as the noonday. [7] Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. [8] Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. [9] For evildoers shall be cut off: But those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

Simply put, place your hope in the LORD.

The Holy Spirit gave me a bonus thought: Stop wishing on a star and put your hope in the Son!

Don’t toss wishes in sinking sand, instead hope on Christ the solid Rock!

Today’s Song is…
Solid Rock

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)