Life’s Drive-through Window Lacks Hope
The drive-through window of life remains understocked with real hope.
Less than a mile from my family’s neighborhood, the same fast-food restaurant provides drive-through service at two different locations in opposite directions.
At the end of our road, we must make a decision.
Do we turn right or left?
To the right stands a newer version of the business established in the 1940’s.
But the same problem exists with both.
My son arrived home to discover an incorrect order. He’d ordered lunch, paid and waited. Yet later found his bag filled with breakfast items. The scent of sausage instead of chicken frustrated him.
Since my husband and I have had similar experiences, I check everything before driving away. Opening each bag, wrapper, or container. It assures I’m leaving with what I expected…what I wanted.
And I never want to wait. I want service and I want it pronto (the culture in which we live). Impatience tempered with social manners. Please! I’m in a hurry!
Life’s Drive-through Window
In the same way, life’s crossroads force me to park and stay a while. They keep me bewildered about whether to go right or left and wondering if I’ll leave the next place with what I expected, all the items I wanted. So, I grow weary in the waiting.
Here’s the problem with life’s drive-through window.
Life shifts toward uncertainty and disappoints us. The only choices on the menu offer false promises. High hopes placed in people, programs, possessions, money, goals, careers, or religion. None of these serve us well.
All those items lack assurance.
- People fail us.
- Programs unravel.
- Possessions leave us hollow.
- Money never satisfies.
- Unreached goals magnify our weaknesses.
- Aspiring careers crash.
- And religion commands our tireless effort.
Even if we examine and double-check each item, we always leave life’s drive-through window without hope.
Waiting on Hope
But where do we turn when the unexpected happens?
At the end of our road, which way do we go?
What steps do we take if we’re simply exhausted from waiting on hope?
God’s Word speaks of a hope established before drive-through windows…before the world even existed.
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31a, NIV)
The ESV says those who “wait” on the Lord.
Fully-stocked Window
Still further, look at Psalm 39:7,
“And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait? My hope [my confident expectation] is in You.” (AMP)
The only hope worth waiting on rests in the Lord—straight from the ample, fully-stocked windows of heaven. #hope Click To Tweet
The Lord offers real hope worth waiting for.
Because when we wait on life to start looking up, we wait forever.
Instead, we look up to the Lord. Our hope lies in Him.
In prayer, we lay our expectations and desires in the able hands of the sovereign heavenly Father.
Not asking for quick service, but trusting Him with the impossible and unexplainable parts of life.
The Hope-giver
When we set our hope fully on the Hope-giver.
One day we’ll see.
Hope was always coming.
Jesus. Is. Our. Living. Hope.
He’s the certainty of hope in an uncertain world.
No drive-through service needed.
Thankful to know the true Hope-giver. I pray to trust Him more. #blog #hope Click To TweetPrayer: Lord, when life hasn’t turned out as I once hoped, make my heart strong and confident as I hope in You. I wait for You, the Hope-giver. Amen.
*Featured images designed in Adobe Spark.
*This post is revised from my free hope devotional. To discover more about authentic hope, subscribe to this blog community by email and download, 4 Ways Hope Changes Your Life Forever. Because you are never far from hope. Never.
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© 2018 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
Amen! All the hope in the world is just false, cheap hope. Real, valuable hope comes from God alone.
Yes! Real and authentic hope is only found in the Hope-giver. Thanks, Jennifer.
I love this. Your words gave me an epiphany. I always wondered if hope does not disappoint (Romans 5) then how can hope deferred make the heart sick (Proverbs). Because our great hope is Christ! And he is coming period. Whether our small hopes in this life are fulfilled or deferred our great hope is coming. And that eclipses it all. Thank you!
Amen, Stephanie! That does eclipse it all! Jesus is our living hope! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead….” 1 Peter 1:3.
Great use of the drive through for an example. Every time I use the drive through, I will think about our hope giver and maybe I can learn to be more patient in the wait. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful thoughts with us.
Thank you, Yvonne. And so true, the Lord offers real hope worth waiting for.
Because when we wait on life to start looking up, we wait forever.
Instead, we look up to the Lord. Our hope lies in Him.
I have had these same thoughts, Karen. Life seems to present me with poor choices whichever way I turn. Sure they seem good for me at the time, but ultimately they almost all steal me from God’s purposes for me. I have had to grow in how I wait for God to make those purposes clear. Thanks for the good word!
Chip, I agree…false forms of hope steal God’s purposes from us. We’re expecting something they can never give us. When we set our hope fully on the Hope-giver.
One day we’ll see.
Hope was always coming.
Jesus. Is. Our. Living. Hope.
He’s the certainty of hope in an uncertain world.
No drive-through service needed.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Any time I can be reminded to slow down and find hope and fulfillment in God is a welcome and necessary encouragement. Thank you for noticing the busyness of life and the misplaced hope that steers us down the wrong road.
We should welcome it more, Stephen. The true hope that only comes from the One who IS hope. I’m thankful we are never far from hope when we know Jesus. In an uncertain world, there’s an undeniable hope, an unshakable anchor for our soul. Appreciate your thoughts!
Agree with drive-thru as an image of i-want-it-now mentality, and we expect to be satisfied. Advent of the microwave oven had same effect. The expectation curve accelerates.
We need to slow down to hear the still small voice. Spiritual disciplines can never be honed in a Drive-Thru mindset. Jesus, let me pause, pray, peruse your word, and grow in Your grace and knowledge. In Your strong name, Amen.
Amen, Rob! I agree and your thoughts are very well said. I’m so glad a hope was established long before drive-through service even existed. So we lay our expectations and desires in the able hands of the sovereign heavenly Father. Not asking for quick service, but trusting Him with the impossible and unexplainable parts of life.
Here’s my favorite part: “Life shifts toward uncertainty and disappoints us. The only choices on the menu offer false promises.”
But God–our true hope!
Thanks, Nancy! Yes! “And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait? My hope [my confident expectation] is in You.” (Psalm 39:7 AMP)
Such truth in this: “High hopes placed in people, programs, possessions, money, goals, careers, or religion. None of these serve us well.”
We think these will meet our needs, soothe us, and make us happy. They always fail. We have no other reliable, never-failing hope but Christ. Thanks for these great reminders in word, tweet, and graphic, Karen! He is our daily need and requirement! Now to head out into the day remembering and holding on to Jesus!
So true, Melinda. The key word is we “think” these will meet our needs or make us happy. But they never will. The Lord offers real hope worth waiting for. Hope worth the wait instead of turning to any of those substitutes. Thanks for commenting.
A great way to think about life and drive through windows. Next time I am at a drive through, I will be thinking about this message. 🙂 I am thankful for the hope God provides every day. Placing our hope in God is the best way to live.
Praise the Lord, Melissa! I’m thankful too! It is the best way to live. “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4, ESV)
I think hope is the great equalizer, no matter what our life consists of. Part of the human condition – and Spirit-led “scheme” to get us to set our hearts/minds on things above. (I might start taking my business for fast food elsewhere…or send them a yelp review!)
“Yelp review.” Hilarious, Sue. And since you’re all about hospitality and what happens around the table, I’m guessing fast food isn’t your “thing” and not really mine for the most part. Maybe we need to swear off fast food altogether or at least drive-through service. Chick-fil-a is my favorite because they rarely get it wrong and it’s always their “pleasure” to serve us. Thankful we know the true Hope-giver and there’s never a need to worry about things when we do set our hearts and minds on treasures in heaven. Hope is a treasure we have here, too.
I’m not sure how anybody could be disappointed with sausage! I think thats a great gift!! 😉
Great encouragement here though Karen. Life certainly does disappoint us often, and I have had to learn through some difficult circumstances that I do indeed just need to wait on and TRUST the Lord that His plan for me is greater and better than my own. Thanks for the encouragement!!
Ha ha, Paul. My husband would agree on the sausage and bacon too. And, yes, when life turns difficult, trusting the true Hope-giver, brings a peace and assurance like nothing this world offers. In the end, we simply cannot buy hope. Thanks for commenting.
Awesome post karen! The more I know God the more I trust Him and by reading His word and meditating on His word that brings me closer to Him everyday.He is our only Hope in this fallen world and with that alone brings peace and comfort.He loves us so much!
I so agree, Sydell! The more we know the Lord, the more we realize true hope is found in no other. Thanks for commenting and your kind words.
This is absolutely one of my favorite blog posts. I just love the comparisons. How true is it that every single thing on life’s menu is a false promise, I feel like I forget that so often!
Jessie
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Awe, thanks so much, Jessie. Yep! We always, always, always leave life’s drive-through with something different than what we expected or what we wanted or needed. But not so with the windows of heaven that are fully stocked with the exact hope we’ve been waiting on all along…Jesus himself and the promise of abundant life.
We had fast food restaurants before, and even drive thrus. I don’t know what happened to make everyone think they had to race around and never enjoy anything that isn’t a quick answer. And your photo made me remember my sweet poodles, Candy and Cozy, now with Jesus. They loved go to get chicken fingers or a cup of vanilla ice cream in the summer, it was free and had a dog bone.
I know, Rebecca. Our culture is a drive-through, quick answer and service way of life. It’s what we’ve become. So thankful God provides the hope we’ve always been waiting on and in His perfect timing. Sure you miss your sweet dogs. Thanks for commenting.