Does Hope Help You Wait?

June 18, 2025

Tertullian was a Christian author around 200 AD. who said:

“Hope is patience with the lamp lit.”

Remember the old commercial for a hotel chain that said, “We’ll leave the light on for you”? I think about my parents who, while I was growing up, would leave the light on for me when I came home late, so I could find my way inside easier.

I also think about the Father in the Prodigal Son story, who I bet left the light on for his wayward son.

Leaving the light on implies that “we’ll be waiting for you.”

That’s what I love about this quote. “Hope is patience with the lamp lit.” It says that having patience is a huge part of hope, but it also describes how you wait.

You wait patiently, but expectantly. You trust God is going to show up, even though you’re not sure exactly when.

Kinda like my parents when I was a teenager.

Remember, choose hope today.