What is hope to you?

(The following post was originally written on Dec. 3rd, 2013. I am transferring it over here from my previous blog site.)

This week began the Advent season. Advent is a time of celebration for those who belong to Jesus. It is a season of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. It is when we step back from all of the commercialism that life has to offer and we truly meditate on what it meant for God to send His Son to us. I am thrilled that God did this for me and that Jesus is in my heart but I've always struggled with the meaning of hope...
Is hope the same thing as want?
A lot of the time the things that I want are the same things that I hope I get.
For example, I hope that I can get some new clothes for Christmas. I also want  new clothes for Christmas. So I am a little bit confused I guess as to what the true definition of hope really is. My concern is that most of us get the word hope confused with the word want. Some of us might not see the wrong in this but when we think of what we want, it is typically something that benefits us as an individual and I don't think that's what hope really means. I'm not saying that having hope can't bless us but what I am saying is that I don't want us to hope in things that are that... Just things.
So to help clarify my confusion, I did what any normal person would do, I looked up the word hope in the dictionary and here's what I got. Hope : to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true. 
So that's what hope is?
To want something to happen or be true and to think that it can happen or be true? I don't think that's the best or only way to define what hope is though. I think that hope is more than that. I think that hope has to come with a promise. Such as if someone makes a promise to you, that should give you hope that it may come to pass. 
Like the time when I was in third grade and I wanted a pair of Reebok Pumps and my dad told me that if I got 3 E's on my report card that he would get them for me. I ended up getting the E's and my dad honored his promise to me.
I also think about the Israelites and the promises that God gave to them especially the one in Isaiah 9:6 which says:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
After this promise was given they waited in eager expectation for a King to come and rescue them from bondage. How amazing it was that God honored His words and brought us Jesus, who is the true hope of the world.
What about you? Any struggles with the word hope? I'd love to hear about it.

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