More than hoping for the best

“The world hopes for the best, but the Lord offers the best hope.”

Pastor Dan Wiese of the Church of the Nazarene.

Pastor Dan Wiese of the Church of the Nazarene.

Past theologian/minister, John Wesley said, “The world hopes for the best, but the Lord offers the best hope.” The world hopes for the best. How many times have you heard people say that? “So-and-so has cancer, but all we can do is hope for the best.” “I just lost my job, but I guess all I can do is hope for the best.”

It sounds like a great positive thinking, but in actuality, it seems very shallow. For to hope for the best is to hope, by chance, it will all work out. It is kind of a hope in hope, or at best a perchance hope that it will be good in the end. Sadly, most people who say, “all we can do is hope for the best,” says it with a deep sigh, as though they were only hanging on to a thin thread of hope.

Isaiah 40:27-31 says, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God’? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

The other day my wife and I were driving out the road and we were enjoying watching eagles flying out over the water. I was reminded a couple years ago of two instances within a couple weeks of each other that happened through which God reminded me that he carries us as on the wings of eagles.

First, we were visiting our kids in Homer one summer and we rode bikes out the Homer Spit. The spit is a fairly narrow strip of land and about 4 ½ miles long that juts out into Kachemak Bay. Heavy boulders between the shore and the road protect the roadway from the tides. I was riding a bicycle on the bike path, fighting against the wind that almost constantly blows out there. I noticed something I had never noticed before. I stopped and was mesmerized by it, and still am. In fact, I look for it whenever I visit Homer. I watched seagulls start out at the outer end of the spit and glide along the length of the spit, just above the rocky shore where the wind comes across the water and creates an updraft along the shoreline. I watched those seagulls soar for a long time along the shoreline, hardly ever flapping their wings. And they traveled a great distance just adjusting here and there to keep in the current. I was truly amazed.

The second instance was up on the Mount Roberts Tram. We were standing out on the viewing deck and looking down at the town below. It was evening and I again was mesmerized by the bald eagles. Starting at the bottom, they caught an updraft and glided on the wind current, higher and higher until I was still watching them soaring in the wind high above the mountain where we were standing. Again, they hardly flapped a wing! They just soared up and up on the currents, adjusting here and there to stay in the current.

God spoke to my heart through that observation of nature saying, that is my hope for you. You stew and fret about a lot of things, but I want you to simply put your hope in me. Set your spiritual wings on the current of my spirit and let me help you soar. It is too easy for me, maybe for us, to put all our hope in our strength, our good luck, our resources, our abilities, our ingenuity, our own efforts, and so on. And we hope for the best. But God reminds us that he is our best hope. Put your hope in the Lord Jesus Christ and soar with him!


• Daniel R. Wiese is pastor of the Church of the Nazarene. “Living & Growing” is a weekly column written by different authors and submitted by local clergy and spiritual leaders.


More in Home

A customer approaches the entrance of the Breeze In in the Mendenhall Valley on Oct. 28. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Woman dies in officer-involved shooting near valley Breeze In

Portion of street closed between McNugget Intersection and Jordan Creek Center.

Maria Laura Guollo Martins, 22, an Eaglecrest Ski Area employee from Urussanga, Brazil, working via a J-1 student visa, helps Juneau kids make holiday decorations during the resort’s annual Christmas Eve Torchlight Parade gathering on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Foreign students working at Eaglecrest trade Christmas Eve traditions for neon lights and lasagna

26 employees from Central and South America are far from family, yet among many at Torchlight Parade.

The city of Hoonah is seeking to incorporate as a borough with a large tract of surrounding area that includes most of Glacier Bay National Park and a few tiny communities. (Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development photo)
New Xunaa Borough gets OK in published decision, but opponents not yet done with challenges

State boundary commission reaffirms 3-2 vote; excluded communities likely to ask for reconsideration.

An aerial view of L’áan Yík (Channel inside or Port Camden) with cars and people gathered on the bridge over Yéil Héeni (Raven’s Creek) during a May 2024 convening on Kuiu Island. Partners that comprise the Ḵéex̱’ Ḵwáan Community Forest Partnership and staff from the Tongass National Forest met to discuss priorities for land use, stream restoration, and existing infrastructure on the north Kuiu road system. (Photo by Lee House)
Woven Peoples and Place: U.S. Forest Service’s Tongass collaboration a ‘promise to the future’

Multitude of partners reflect on year of land management and rural economic development efforts.

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears varsity girls and boys basketball teams pose with alumni players during alumni games Monday at the George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
JDHS boys and girls show up to show out against peers

Crimson Bears finish Vegas, use alumni game for GHCCC warmup.

Bartlett Regional Hospital leaders listen to comments from residents during a forum June 13 about proposed cuts to some services, after officials said the reductions were necessary to keep the hospital from going bankrupt within a few years. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Bartlett rebounds from years of losses with profits past six months; staffing down 12% during past year

Hospital’s balance sheet shows dramatic bottom-line turnaround starting in May as services cut.

A street in a Mendenhall Valley neighborhood is closed following record flooding on Aug. 6 that damaged nearly 300 homes. (City and Borough of Juneau photo)
Flood district protection plan faces high barrier if enough property owners protest $6,300 payments

Eight of nine Assembly members need to OK plan if enough objections filed; at least two already have doubts.

Participants in the 2024 Solstice Sweater Shuffle pose for a photo at Lena Beach campground. (Photo courtesy race directors)
Solstice Sweater Shuffle brings style to shortest day of the year

A festive group of runners participated in the Solstice Sweater Shuffle on… Continue reading

The newly named Ka-PLOW is seen with other Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities equipment in Juneau in a video announcing the names of three local snowplows in a contest featuring more than 400 entries. (Screenshot from Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities video)
Newly named DOT snowplows probably won’t visit Juneau neighborhoods until after Christmas

Berminator, Salt-O-Saurus Rex, Ka-PLOW selected as winners in contest with more than 400 entries.

Most Read