What do you make of this saying: “Hope is the dream of a soul awake”? Worth pondering, I think. Is there more than one possible meaning? What does a “soul awake” look like, and why is it a dream? Let me take a run at it.
Hope for most of us is our dream. It’s what keeps us going toward our goals and desires. It’s why we don’t give up and settle for nothing much. And, what might short-circuit our hope is a soul asleep…or lifeless…or ruined.
We’ve been told as young people as early as grade school to develop dreams for our lives and pursue those. Dreams are as personal as fingerprints. What have you done about yours?
Some of mine have exceeded expectation, while others never got off the ground. I suspect it’s because, as I’ve gained experience, my dreams changed. I learned more about how life really works. But I don’t believe there’s ever a reason to give up hope, unless it’s based on the wrong things.
Hope doesn’t originate with us. It’s a gift from our Maker and Sustainer. The Bible talks a lot about hope, especially when life hurts. “My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken…Pour out your heart before Him, God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:5, 8).
David, the speaker of that Psalm, after much trouble and hardship, had his dreams realized. His Lord kept his hope alive in a soul that was awake. David’s passion was to know this God and serve Him. His legacy testifies to someone who didn’t accept less than intimacy with the One who awakened him to dreams he couldn’t have imagined.
As the Lord of hope and fulfilled dreams beckons, He will awaken our sleeping desires. His power and loyal love are the catalyst and final result. As the angel Gabriel declared to young Mary of Nazareth, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).