Hope, No Matter What

(our theme for September)

Proverbs 23:18

“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of Lin Manuel Miranda’s hit musical Hamilton. As a lover of both history and musicals, what’s not to love? But my love for it stretches far beyond combining two of my passions in life. I find myself so drawn to it due to how it handles the clashing personalities of the characters and their attitudes towards the future.

Our main protagonists in the musical are the well-known political rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. These characters serve as polar opposites to each other on multiple fronts, most notably among them, how they perceive the notion of what is to come.

Hamilton is portrayed as an impatient yet boisterous go-getter and is said to “write like he’s running out of time” and like he needs it to survive. He is such a go-getter and works himself to the point he blatantly refuses when his wife, Eliza, encourages him to take a break. A common theme associated with the character of Alexander Hamilton is the fact that he is consumed by concern about the legacy he will leave behind. He is a believer in doing everything he can to achieve his future hope as soon as humanly possible.

Then on the other hand, we have Aaron Burr. During his song entitled “Wait for It”, we see that Burr is a far more patient and reserved man than his adversary. He feels that his future is not set and stone, and reiterates that if there is a reason he’s still alive, then he is willing to wait for it instead of working at breakneck speed to see that reason to fruition like Hamilton. Additionally, he ponders what it is like in his adversary’s shoes, commenting that his pace is relentless, he does not waste time, and has something to prove but nothing to lose. However, Burr stays true to being willing to wait for good to come his way instead of rushing to achieve it like he is running out of time.

I know I am certainly guilty of having Alexander’s impatient nature when waiting for good things to come from work I’ve done; I believe this is simply human nature. Waiting is often a hard task. However, I’ve also been able to look at this through the perspective of Burr and being more willing to wait and go with the flow. But whether we find ourselves looking at what’s to come as a Hamilton or a Burr, regardless we are on God’s timing. God is actively guiding us towards our future hope he has planned and will not abandon us as we make our way towards it. This future hope is promised, but we just have to be willing to be patient and wait for it or to work towards it.

Prayer:

God, forgive us for being impatient while we wait for what’s to come and help us to remember that we live on your time and so long as we are patient, you will help us to see the fruits of our labor. So long as our hope is placed in you, may we always remember that our future hope will be bright and will not be forsaken by you. In your name, amen.

This devotion was written and recorded by Grace Jonas.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.