Hope in Extra Time
Yesterday, I found myself back at Hampden Park for the first time in many years.
Dunfermline vs Falkirk in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
Fans on both sides were filled with hope for a victory.
Kyle and Emily drove all the way up from Liverpool to see the game!
It had everything that you’d expect from a semifinal match – noise, colour, scarves in the air, and above all that shared sense of anticipation.
We bumped into a few familiar faces from Dunfermline too.
But the game itself… it was very tight, and to be honest… it wasn’t a great spectacle!
It certainly wasn’t a classic, nor one that I will rush to watch again.
90 minutes passed and it was still 0-0.
An extra 30 minutes played out too – then it was penalties.
Those tense few minutes turned into an incredible celebration victory for the Pars!
Unbelievably – they won!
As I drove home, I found myself thinking about how much of life feels a bit like that.
Dunfermline’s fans hopes were fulfilled with joyful smiles, laughter and singing all the way home with their eyes now firmly set on the final in a few weeks’ time.
Whilst the Falkirk fans… well, their hopes were dashed.
They left more quietly, with their heads lowered, carrying the disappointment of what might have been… and yet, perhaps, still holding on to the thought of better days ahead.
So, what is Hope?
In a general sense, I think hope is a feeling of desire and confident expectation that something good will happen in the future, a belief even that a specific desired outcome is indeed possible.
This morning, my mind turned to a more spiritual definition, it is the Sabbath after all.
The Gospel sense of hope is different.
“Happy is he,” said the Psalmist, “that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” (Psalm 146:5)
Hope isn’t a certainty we can prove, but a quiet, steady trust that the Lord, Jesus Christ will do exactly what He has promised.
I know that with hope we can find joy in this life as we trust in God’s promises.
So perhaps, whatever “extra time” you find yourself in right now…
hold on to hope a little longer, because even there, I believe He is still at work.
Where in your life might you need to trust that just a little more today?
