Last night, in between sleep, you know that place where you are kind of awake but not fully? In that semi-conscious state, where you are just awake enough to change positions to ease the ache in your back or hips, I heard a word: ‘Esperance’. Over and over, so much so that I woke up with it whispering in my mind continuously.
I have heard that word before but to be honest, I didn’t know what it meant. Isn’t Esperance a place somewhere in Australia? Being a bit of a word nerd, I looked it up in the dictionary then Google. The dictionary had a one-word definition- Hope. Google, however, expanded on this, saying that indeed, Esperance is a coastal town in Western Australia. But it also said that the word means “Hope” in French and comes from the Latin word “Sperare” (to hope). It describes’ a positive expectation or confidence, rather than a simple dream’. It also said that the word is now obsolete, not used in regular, everyday conversations anymore.
I immediately thought of Hebrews 11:1:
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see"
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I use the word hope as a substitute for the word wish- I hope (wish) that things in our country would change, I hope (wish) that you get better soon, I hope (wish) that your situation improves.
I started thinking, when I read about hope in the Bible, how do I perceive it? Is my definition a positive expectation, confidence? Or is it just a wish, a desire for something that if true would be great but…
I can’t imagine that when Jesus or the apostles used the word hope that they meant maybe, possibly, cross your fingers and wish for the best. I think they would be talking about hope as confidence, expectation of what may not be visible or not yet here, but a deep assurance that what the Lord promises WILL happen. We can believe Him, we can be so completely sure, that we can be encouraged in joyful anticipation, even in the hard times, even in the waiting.
The word hope is mentioned many times in scripture, in many different circumstances and contexts, which I imagine, like you, I have read about dozens of times. But now I wonder, have I been missing something? Have I been seeing the word of God through Esperance? Or through the world’s definition of hope? How does it change my insight into Jesus, His character and His words if I hear them through the confident assurance of Esperance rather than the wish for the best version of hope? How could this bring me closer to God? How could this revelation change my thoughts, the way I view the world, how I pray for others, my actions, and my life? If I begin to look at hope through the Esperance lens, how much more powerful could the words of scripture become to me?
So this week. I’m going on a journey, to look at Biblical hope through the Esperance lens. Would you like to join me?
My hope and prayer for you this week is in Romans 15:13:
“May the God of hope (confident assurance, Esperance) fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope (confident assurance, Esperance) by the power of the Holy Spirit”
Blessings-
Frances Comer.