High Hopes!

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 Romans 5:5

In 1959, Frank Sinatra made the song High Hopes written by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen a big success. The song became popular because it had such a catchy tune and encouraging words. It was first seen and heard in the movie, A Hole In The Head with the child actor, Eddie Rodgers. The song illustrated the idea that with high hopes anything can be done. The first verse (and most of us know it) of the song goes like this: Next time you are found with your chin on the ground, There’s a lot to be learned, so look around. Just what makes that little old ant, think he can move a rubber tree plant; Anyone knows an ant, can’t, Move a rubber tree plant. But he had high hopes, he had high hopes, he had high apple pie in the sky hopes. So anytime you’re feelin’ low, stead of letting go, just remember that ant. Oops there goes another rubber tree plant.

Webster defines high hopes as a strong feeling that something good is going to happen or be true. Many of us know what it’s like to start out with high hopes in our lives. High Hopes for things such as our years in college, our quest for a successful career, our choice of a life mate, and the list goes on. Sometimes life, however; has other plans and we can be faced with discouragement, disappointment, frustration, and failure. This is the time when we need to focus on the possibilities rather than the problems.

I read a sad story lately about a honeymoon disaster. The newly weds arrived at the hotel in the wee hours of the morning with high hopes. They had reserved a large room with romantic amenities, but that is not what they found. Instead of a large room with a beautiful view and appointments, they found a tiny room with no view, no flowers, no champagne. The bathroom was tiny and cramped, and worst of all, there was no bed! The couple ended up opening up the sofa bed and sleeping on the lumpy mattress for sagging bed springs. It was not what they had hoped for.

The next morning a sore necked groom stormed downstairs and into the manager’s office where he vented his anger. After listening patiently for a few minutes, the clerk asked, “Did you open the door inside your room?” The groom admitted that he had not because he thought that door was a closet. He returned to their room, and opened the door. Inside was a huge room with a huge bed, a beautiful view, chocolates, champagne, fruit baskets, and amenitities which far exceeded his high hopes. He had overlooked the obvious, given up his high hopes, and missed the blessings.

The question must be asked, “Why did he give up on his high hopes? Why didn’t he try to find some good by opening all the doors and checking all the possibiities?” Sometimes this life is not what we had hoped, but instead of looking at the possibilities before us, we miss the great things because we give up on our high hopes.

Many of us have high hopes now that the election is over. We want to see all the things we have been promised brought to fruition, but we may or may not have all our hopes realized. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is being sure of what we hope for because faith is the foundation that keeps our hope alive, and without it, our hope can not stand. Our problem as humans is not the absence or lack of hope, it is what we chose to put our hope in. Our hope to have the promises of the election or other things in life does not lie solely in people, but rather in our faith in God.

There is good news for Christians in that hope is not “high apple pie in the sky” because it is based not on fantasty, but on the Bible whose hope is based on reality and possibility. Real hope is what gives us the strength to persevere, to hang on, to keep moving forward even when people tell us that something can’t be done because we have the truth and the hope that Jesus offers.

Just like that little old ant, we as Christians have high hopes because Christ has never failed to keep His promises to anyone who trusts in Him.