Lord, in the morning you hear my voice. In the morning I pray to you. I wait for you in hope (Psalm 5:3).

Welcome to Day 3 of 30 Days of Hopeful. Perhaps you have a hope or dream that has been a long time in coming. Seems like waiting for our heart’s desire is just part of being human.

If we are followers of Christ, we can be sure that the Lord is aware of our deepest longings.  Jesus reminds us that our heavenly Father already knows what we need even before we ask Him (Matthew 6:32).

What’s more, if we are truly seeking Him with our whole heart—and if our dream lines up with God’s Word—most likely, it was put there by God himself.

I want to remind you that our heavenly Father is kind and loving. And while there’s no guarantee that we get everything we desire—not even good earthly parents give their children everything they want—our heavenly Father delights in giving His children good gifts.

The Bible makes several bold promises:

-Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17).

-No good thing does God withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11).

-Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).

-Seek first the Kingdom, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33)

But our dreams usually don’t come without a fight. Holding onto hope can be an uphill climb. It’s a muscular journey—this thing we call hope—and not for the faint of heart. One way I’ve learned to condition myself for the climb is to come to the Lord often and early. I agree with the Psalmist:

“Lord, in the morning you hear my voice. In the morning I pray to you. I wait for you in hope” (Psalm 5:3 NIRV).  Another version puts it this way: “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3 NLT).

Hope comes with a risk, as all who would warn us point out. “Be careful. Don’t get your hopes too high,” they caution. But I would rather risk the disappointment of high hopes than live in the valley of low expectations. Let’s dare to seek God wholeheartedly. To dream big dreams. To wait expectantly—with hope.