Whisper of Hope

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  Thessalonians 5:8

My grandmother owned and operated  Ida’s Beauty Shop in my hometown.  She was what we now call a hair stylist.  Ida stayed busy six days a week, but she did have hobbies to fill the the few days she allowed herself away from work.  The piano was one of her favorite ways to pass her off days.

Ida never had any formal musical training, but she could play the piano by ear – if she heard it, she could play it or thought she could.  When one plays by ear, the down side is that lots of times you are just guessing at the notes which results in a lot of do overs. One of her favorite hymns was Whispering Hope, and when she played it, she would sing along.  She liked for us to sit and listen.  I have to admit, it was like listening to a recording where you go forward, then go back, correct mistakes and start again, but she loved an audience and we were mostly patient.

We never made it through the song without a sour note or two, and sometimes all we could hear were the mistakes, but the words were so beautiful and comforting that we learned to ignore the mistakes.

Sometimes hope comes as a whisper when our lives are filled with grief, pain and sorrow.  Many times we can’t hear the whisper of hope because our ears have become deafened to the voice of God.  We mistake His voice for the world’s and we only listen for mistakes.

Many things in this world drown out God’s voice but none so strong as our own voice of negativity and self doubt.  We make it hard for God to get  a word in edgewise.  It’s often hard to discern God’s whisper of hope above the voices of the world, of conformity, or of condemnation.

We need to remember that God’s whisper is different from the world’s.  His voice conveys joy, peace, grace, wisdom, love, and truth.  If we listen for the whisper of hope, we will never feel defeated because God’s voice trumps the world’s.  If God can stop a storm on  the Sea of Galilee with three words, “Peace Be Still”, then surely he can calm the storms in our lives.

The words of Whispering Hope are based on scripture from Hebrews and Thessalonians.  Written in 1868 by Setimus Winner, it illustrates the point that not listening to God’s whisper is not a new problem.  We need to concentrate on the whispers rather than the mistakes.

Soft as the voice of an angel; breathing a lesson unheard; hope with a gentle persuasion; whispers her comforting word.   Wait til the darkness is over;  Wait til the tempest is done; hope for the sunshine tomorrow; after the shower is gone.      Whispering Hope, oh how welcome His voice; Making my heart, in its sorrow rejoice.