Why Hope is Better Than Luck

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

(Proverbs 13:12 ESV)

My word for the year? Hope.

Yet somehow when I woke up on this so-called lucky St. Patrick’s Day morning and discovered there were no clean towels in the house (even though I did laundry over the weekend), I did not feel so lucky.

Some might say it had nothing to do with being lucky—or in this case, being out of luck. After all, as the saying goes, luck is nothing more than hard work meeting opportunity.

Yes, I had the opportunity to perform the hard work of collecting the clothes, towels, socks, etc., and stuffing them into the washer and dryer, folding them, and yes, by God’s grace, I even put them away! Hard work met opportunity. Unfortunately, hard work throughout the week gave me a new opportunity to use and wear said clothes, towels, socks, etc. And now, I am completely out of towels and, by the looks of it, luck.

But hope?

Outside of keeping up with the laundry, I have many things I hope for. Some I’ve seen realized. Some I’m still waiting on. Some seem like a dream forever deferred. But with all of my planning, dreaming, and hoping, it’s in times when all seems lost that I remember where my hope comes from.

While luck is based on chance, hope is based on a person.

While the world searches for an elusive rainbow, looking for a shiny treasure, we worship the Creator of rainbows, the true Treasure, the One who reigns from a throne bathed in majestic ribbons of light.

The treasures gained by the opportunities of this world are only as bright as the sun casts its light today.

But tomorrow, tomorrow may indeed not only steal the treasure but also snuff the joy attached to the treasure. The anticipation of the long-awaited prize after the dream has come to realization often leaves us short of sustainable joy, and now we must set out after another treasure . . .

Yet hope never disappoints. Christ, who is our hope, relentlessly chases after the dream of capturing our hearts. The greatest hope I have in my life right now is the hope that Jesus will not give up on me. He upholds me. He sustains me. He provides the full assurance of faith of a steal-proof treasure only He can produce so I can’t help but echo Paul: “ . . . being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6 ESV)

His work.

Our opportunity.

A dream fulfilled. A tree of life.

But, of course, there’s still laundry to do.  I’m hopeful it will be done soon—by God’s grace, and after a quick trip to the store to stock up on more detergent.