When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Catchy tune, isn’t it? “Anything your heart desires will come to you.” Well, sign me up! Intentionally or unintentionally, I’ve been humming this tune my whole life. All too often my hope is connected to my own personal dreams. My hope is inextricably to connected to…me.  My power. My position. My influence. My ability to control and manage my life. Other times it’s connected to my prosperity. My stuff. My money. My savings. My retirement.  When that fails, I look to find hope in pleasure. My pursuit of experiences that bring me joy. I chase after leisure, food, sport, relaxation, or experiences to fill my heart.

Where is your hope found?

What has been so revealing about the pandemic is that it reminds us that we are ultimately powerless, our so called prosperity is not as reliable as we think, and what at one time brought us pleasure is limited, hampered, or completely gone.

Mercifully, more than one biblical author suggests our hope is not found in the places we often look. Hope is not found in our circumstances, but in a person. 

Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13)

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:20-21)

Hope fully in the grace that is to come. Hope in God’s future grace. Hope in God. Apparently, Jesus is not a part of God’s hope plan. Jesus is God’s hope plan. He is our only sure hope. There’s not need to wish upon a star. Instead, put your hope in the Savior and the grace that yours to come.