“Don’t get your hopes up.”
That’s something you’ve probably heard before. Maybe it’s advice you’ve given to someone. Usually, we mean well when we say that, because we don’t want someone to be disappointed by how things will most likely turn out.
But if you hear it enough, “don’t get your hopes up” can become a way of life.
Don’t expect too much. Don’t get too excited. Don’t believe things can change. That way, if things do fall apart, at least it won’t hurt as much.
Like many of us, Jacob knew that kind of hurt.
For years, he believed his son Joseph was dead. He had grieved him, mourned him, and learned to live with a hole in his life. So, years later, when his sons returned from Egypt, saying, “Joseph is still alive!” Jacob couldn’t believe them.
Some translations of the Genesis text say that his heart became numb.
He was stunned. Of course, that was something hard to believe, but I also wonder if Jacob had also been hurt too deeply to risk even hoping again.
Then he saw the wagons.
Joseph had sent them from Egypt to bring Jacob to him. In that moment, the impossible news had wheels. Genesis says Jacob’s spirit “revived.”
Now, of course, not every story turns out like Jacob’s. Some losses are real and permanent. Some disappointments, well, remain disappointing. Our faith doesn't ask us to pretend otherwise.
But we also don’t have to let yesterday’s pain, loss, or disappointment dictate what God can do tomorrow.
I'm not suggesting you should expect everything to always work out exactly like you want. But you also don't have to believe and live like everything is already dead before it arrives.
You follow a resurrected Savior. So, go ahead. Get your hopes up.
Stay blessed...john
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