Is it possible to hope too much?
The FREEDOM TOUR grew out of the impossible dream of a 1500-mile handcycle ride along the Mississippi River in 2011. We continue to pursue God-sized dreams; building community, bringing hope and freedom to kids rescued from human trafficking. We continue to pursue our dream goal of raising $100,000 to fund the operation of the HOME OF HOPE for an entire year.
Dreams like that are all about hope. They’re about moving forward faithfully, confidently expecting God to keep His promises. But there’s an obvious question.
The world’s a big, scary, uncertain place. Terrorism, mass shootings, political division, economic uncertainty–and those who use such events for their purposes–remind us of vulnerability and invite us toward fear and isolation. In such an environment it’s fair to ask why one should feel hopeful.
The answer: it’s not about feelings.
Hope is a choice
Hope is a choice based on faith.
Hope is not about denial when you’re discouraged, frustrated, or even depressed. As someone who deals with clinical depression, I know about feeling hopeless. It’s okay to not be okay, and it’s okay to admit it.
I choose to do my best to move forward with hope. Not because I always feel hopeful, because I don’t. I choose hope because I believe God keeps His promises–the promises He actually made, not those made for Him by others.
When you follow a dream there’s a gap. There’s where you are and where you want to go, and if the dream is God-sized then the gap is God-sized as well. You encounter words like impossible because that’s exactly the case when you try to achieve your results with your efforts. God-sized dreams require God’s involvement.
It’s not about results. I set goals, train, and plan, but I don’t pursue my dream with the hope that I’ll get the results I want. That’s a wish, and God isn’t the tooth fairy. I work as hard as I can, confident that my dream will lead to the result God wants. Thy Will Be Done.
So that $100,000 dream goal matters because the funds matter to the kids at the HOME OF HOPE. But reaching it or not doesn’t define the success of the FREEDOM TOUR because our DNA is community. We focus on relationships and trust Jesus to take care of the kids, because that what He promised. Perhaps He’ll accomplish that by helping us raise a big bunch of money; perhaps He’ll do it another way. Either way, He’s got it covered.
Can I hope too much? really means Can I trust God too much to keep His promises?
I don’t think so.