Hope, Faith and the Wishing Tree by Andrea Corrie

 

 

 

Superstition has it that hammering a coin into a felled or fallen ancient tree and making a wish can rid you of illness and bring you fortune. The image at the top of this post, photographed on a walk, is from one such tree. It lies on the ground near the ancient clapper bridge, Tarr Steps, which crosses the River Barle in Somerset.

When I took the photo, God’s name stood out in sharp relief from the other coins. It made me wonder whether the person who hammered in that particular coin did so with hope, with faith — or perhaps with both.

Hope and faith are closely related, but they are not the same thing.

Faith is rooted in trust — trust in the character of God. It rests in who He is, regardless of circumstances. Faith says: God is good. God is present. God is faithful — even when we cannot yet see how things will unfold.

Hope, by contrast, leans toward tomorrow. It carries expectation. It looks ahead to the fulfilment of what has been promised. If faith is trust in God’s character, hope is confidence in God’s promises. Perhaps fulfilled hope might simply be described as answered prayer.

It is not always easy to feel hopeful, particularly when our world feels so turbulent. Hope is not a static possession but something we continually realign ourselves with. We can feel hope-less or hope-ful to varying degrees. In that sense, hope is both a belief and a choice.

If you wish to borrow a nautical analogy: faith is the anchor; hope is the sail. Faith steadies us in the storm. Hope catches the wind and moves us forward.

And binding them together is love — not romantic love, but the highest form of love, described by the Greek word agape: self-giving, unconditional love. It is the love that places the other above oneself. It is the love that characterises Christ, and the love that sustains our relationship with Him.

We do not need to hammer a coin into a tree to secure our future. With the Lord accompanying us on our journey, hope is not nailed into wood — it is rooted in Him, even through the darkest of times. We don’t need to chase the lucky coin or four leaved clover to guarantee our fortune, materially or spiritually.

And perhaps this matters especially for writers. When we sit before a blank page, faith trusts that the story matters. Hope believes it will reach the readers it is meant for. Faith grounds us and puts down roots; hope lifts and sustains us.

They are not the same — but you rarely find one without the other. And love is the binding thread for all three.