Ambition and Hope.

Ambition: a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.

Hope: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

I have never really thought of these two concepts as similar, but I have recently been thinking about how they have the same desired result.  The difference could be defined as "control."  When we have ambition in general or an ambition for a certain situation, we are the ones taking charge with the determination to complete the task.  When we have hope, we are relying on outside entities to bring about the resolution we want.  Most of the time, but not always, hope involves a situation that is outside our control about which we have to exercise faith.

I think that everyone has a certain measure of ambition...some people have more than others, and some people act on it more than others...some people have had great success in being ambitious, and some people are continually discouraged when their attempts at ambition do not pan out...some people put great emphasis on ambition, and some people undervalue it.  Ambition is often tied to courage, determination, vision, and commitment.  Ambition can be applied in any aspect of life: relational, professional, personal, spiritual, etc.  It is not likely that we can achieve our goals for ourselves without exhibiting at least some level of ambition.  There is no way to know what kind of world we would live in if no one had ever been ambitious, but I do not think it would be a world I would want to live in.  Ambition is inspirational. Ambition is generally good, but can also be used for selfish or malicious purposes.  We are exercising control when we exercise ambition, which means that we accept the responsibility for the outcome.

I also think that everyone has a certain measure of hope, though many people have false hope because they do not have their trust in the Lord who is the author of hope...some people have so much hope for the end result of a situation that they apply their ambition fulfilling this desire...some people give up hope on a circumstance because they feel like they have been waiting for far longer than it should take to have some resolution.  Whether we hope in ourselves, in another person, in the world, or in the Lord for a situation to turn out the right way, the root of all hope is faith in something.  I believe that the only object of our faith this is worth putting our hope in is the Lord.  Hope is not contingent on the way things appear.  It is not limited by what seems possible. We are surrendering control to the Lord when we exercise hope, which means that we submit to His sovereignty in the outcome. 

The point is: ambition and hope are both inherently good and necessary.  That being said, I have seen more incredible things spring from situations in which I put my hope in the Lord to deliver the result in His sovereignty than could ever have occurred out of my own ambition.  He is worth our devotion and faith.  He is worth the feeling of uncertainty.  He is worth our hope.

"Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.  Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous." -- Romans 4:18-22. 

So...Motherhood.

A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9 NKJV)

This verse is the story of my life. If I could, I would add a sentence at the end that says "And The Lord is always faithful and sovereign." 

When I was in middle school, I started planning out my life. In my finite wisdom, I determined that it would be best for me to graduate high school, finish college early, and somehow work my way into being the Press Secretary for the President, or at least start my own events business. And maybe along the way, I would catch some guy's eye and I would be married by the time I was 30, but that was a secondary goal to my career aspirations. Maybe my 12 year old self was a victim of the American Dream mentality that many live and die by. 

Let me just tell you...the American Dream has nothing on the plans that God has for each and every one of us. The alterations to "my plan" that The Lord directed were not drastic from the outside, but they were like an avalanche on the inside. I had such a hard time believing that The Lord would really want me to stay in school longer than I had to, get married 3 weeks after graduation, move back to the place I never thought I would live again, buy a house, and prepare to raise a family...all in the time that I had set aside for myself to be a success in the eyes of the world, to make a name for myself, unattached. This might seem like the perfect scenario to most people, and I couldn't be more thankful for these undeserved blessings. But all of these changes and shifts in my thinking have taken me on quite the excursion of soul-searching and readjustment. I have had to continually learn to surrender what I think would be best, in exchange for the Lord's sovereign will. 

I've been learning how to apply this surrender to the lives of the people that I pray for as well, because I can often think of multiple ways that certain situations could be changed for (what appears to be) the better. But I can only see the Lord's current brushstroke of the painting will someday be a completed masterpiece. 

I do not yet have this perspective, but I can imagine that this complete surrender will be a minute-by-minute occurrence come September. When we finally get to meet and take care of our little guy, I know that we will have ideas and dreams for what we want for his immediate and far-off future. And when he encounters failures, disappointments, bumps, and bruises, all we will be able to do is remind him of God's sovereignty and faithfulness, of the unfathomable depths of His love for us, of the masterpiece that He is creating through every circumstance. We will pray for him, as we already are, and tell him of the Kingdom that is to come...and how glad we are to be able to embark on this adventure of spending our lives seeking Christ with him. 

Group Mentality.

All people (regardless of their demographics) want to fit in somewhere. Whether that "somewhere" is a group of close friends, a group of strangers, or a mixture of both...one of the main goals that everyone has in interaction is to feel connected. 

One place that I observed this recently was at an MLB game. People from all walks of life and various backgrounds meet at the same location at the same time, wearing the same team apparel, to eat the same hot dogs and drink the same drinks, to cheer when their team succeeds and join together in the agony of defeat when they fail. These people might cheer for that team because they know one of the players or because they just grew up that way, they might feel a sense of pride in their city and want to express it through applauding the domination of the city's team over another city's...but the overall motivation (whether they recognize it or not) for each of the fans paying to watch a game is so that they can feel that they are a part of something bigger than themselves. 

I think that the league and its sponsors realize this. They play songs and beats that will encourage unity among the fans, they sell more of the apparel that the fans already have, they encourage audience participation, and they promote products as "the official ______ of the team" because they know that brand loyalty is the ultimate success of any endeavor. If people feel that they are being included and wanted, they will continue to spend money to be a part of the bigger "game experience."

As I was considering this, I couldn't help but think about how the same theories should be able to apply to the church, but on a continuous cycle. It should be the case that we all go about our separate day to day lives, cheering for the same team, talking about its successes and failures, strategizing how the teammates could work better together for the good of the program, and growing together for God's ultimate glory. It's amazing to me that we often lose sight of the primary goal of shining the Light to the dark world that is so severely lacking hope, but we can join with unbelievers for a 3 hour baseball game and feel that we are finally a part of something. 

When we were saved, we became a part of the Ultimate Something, which is only partly known and revealed on this earth. After knowing Christ and making Him known, all other goals are penultimate. Good things can sometimes become the enemies of the best things. When we forget this, we can easily get caught up in trying to belong to a community that is temporary, rather than one that is eternal. Let us keep our eyes on the prize until the end of the race. Until then, we must remember that we have been adopted into God's family, meaning we are co-heirs to Christ's inheritance. We, as a community. This is comprised of infinitely higher comraderie than anything the world can offer.