The Folly of Hope

"Which of you walks in darkness and sees no light?
Let him trust in the name of Yahweh and lean on his God."
Isaiah 50:10

What a wonderful promise!
Where do I see little or no light?

As I ponder this question of where I see little or no light, I can come up with quite a depressing list in both in my immediate circle of concern and nation and world wide. Entrenched negative attitudes hurting the loved ones who hold them. On-going dryness in a friend’s life. Uncertainty regarding my childrens’ education. Declining morality in the US and Europe. Continued violence and suffering in Sudan. Persecution of Christians in Indonesia and many other countries. My own long-term sins.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that, "Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen." I’ve learned over the years that I can rely on God, even when all seems dark and I can't see how light will come in dark situations. I can lean on Him and somehow, someway, in the end, all will be well. Maybe all won’t be the way I want it and all problems won’t be solved, but I can trust God and be at peace because His wise, loving ways will prevail. Even a godless king learned this lesson:

When the time was over, I, Nebuchadnessar, raised my eyes to heaven: my reason returned. And I blessed the Most High,
praising and glorifying him who lives forever,
for his empire is an everlasting empire,
his kingship endures, age after age.
All who dwell on earth count for nothing;
as he thinks fit, he disposes the army of heaven
and those who dwell on earth.
No one can arrest his hand
or ask him, "What have you done?"
Daniel 4:31-32

That we ‘count for nothing’ doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care for us–the Bible is abundantly clear that He does–but it does mean that compared to his power and ability, ours is nothing and, in the end, His will can’t be thwarted by us and that somehow, unbelievable as it seems, all will work out as he plans.

Thomas Merton says this well in Seasons of Celebration:
"The fact that the world is other than it might be does not alter the truth that Christ is present in it and that his plan has been neither frustrated nor changed: indeed, all will be done according to His will. Our Advent is a celebration of this hope. That is the audacity of Faith, the folly of Hope–to proclaim Him when all is crumbling and violent–the antithesis of a loving, merciful God who saves. (pp. 90-91)

And this is what we are called to do: to proclaim a Loving, Might God who ways will prevail when all is dark and hope seems foolish.