Do You Like Camping?

“…I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope.”  [Acts 2:26 -The Message]

Do you enjoy camping? “Roughing it” in the great outdoors—no showers, no bathrooms, no real food?  Not me! No way!  My idea of camping includes a nice comfortable hotel room and plenty of restaurants within walking distance!  That is my definition of “roughing it.”  I’ve probably lost some of you forever after that declaration!  Sorry!

Nonetheless, I am friends with people who love camping. They enjoy hiking into the mountains, or national parks, pitching their tent, and sleeping on the ground!  They look for the ideal place to hunker down for the night.  Although they describe their experiences to me, I have no idea what it’s actually like! 

I’ve never slept in a tent, much less pitched a tent—at least in the literal sense.  However, the reality is we have all “pitched a tent” somewhere.  The question is where?  Your career?  Your intelligence? Your finances?  Your relationships?  Your addiction? Your religion?

The author of Acts is quoting from David (Psalm 16) who makes this declaration:  “I saw God before me for all time.  Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side.  I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic; I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope” (The Message).   Now that is where I want to camp and where I want to pitch my tent…in the land of hope!

One of my favorite leadership quotes is from Napoleon Bonaparte’: “A leader is a dealer in hope.”  But what is hope?  Dictionary.com provides these definitions: 

• “to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence;

• to believe, desire, or trust; and

• to feel that something desired may happen.” 

But does hope have a foundation?  Our hope does not have to rest on random feelings or trumped up emotions.  Check out these quotes from the Bible:

• “…for I have put my hope in Your word” (Psalm 119:74);

• “I have put my hope in His word” (Psalm 130:5); and

• “I pray that God, the source of hope…” (Romans 15:13).

Hope has a solid foundation—God and His Word!  That’s where I want to “pitch my tent.”

Where are you camping?