Hope Minus the Less

Photo: Yosemite Falls by Dee Kamp

Hope Minus the Less

Hope is what gets me out of bed in the morning. Hope is the chauffeur that drives me through the day.

This thought of hope reminds me of an incredible woman I often waited on at our little Beaver Valley Country store years ago. She had a life filled with one difficult situation after another. Her month was longer than her meager check from her part time and she was slow and careful selecting her goods. We knew her husband had been injured on the job and out of work. They had been waiting for months for his disability to be approved by the state for assistance and times were just plain tough.

Though she rarely spoke of her faith, it was her faith that spoke through her—it was her contagious smile and her buoyant hope that continually encouraged others.

Time after time I witnessed her cheering up someone as they shared their troubles with her. They would ask what her secret was to be so strong, so-hopeful.

 I never tired of hearing her favorite phrase when she would say, “Even in hopeless is the word hope, so hope is found when you minus the less.”

“For what you have done I will always praise you

 in the presence of your faithful people.

And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.”

 Psalm 52:9 NIV

It might make a person frown for a minute to catch on to the way in which she said it, but soon they would smile, nod their heads in understanding and be uplifted.

 We tend to think of hope as a mere trickle we might receive, forgetting God is unlimited in His love for us, in all that He can provide.  God is our great waterfall of eternal hope.

 Hope is God’s gift to us in the eternal hope of Jesus Christ. Hope minus the less, is minus one’s way of negative thinking. Hope is always and forever the truth we can hold on to when all seems hopeless.

When we fill our hearts with God’s Word, He brings spiritual hope to our souls.

“Hope Minus the Less” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© July 29, 2013