"Hosanna": a Cry of Faith

Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.  

Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
~~Mark 11:8-10

When Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, people were waving palm branches and shouting the word, "Hosanna!"  I always thought that was a word like, "Hallelujah!" or "Hip-hip, Hurray!" But it's not. If you look it up, it means, "Save, I pray!" or "Help!!!"

What on earth?! Why would people, even the little children, usher a new leader into town with joyful shouts of "Save us!" or "Help us!"?

Upon reflecting about it for a while, it occurred to me that the word "Hosanna" is a word of faith, like very few other words are.  It started as a plea for help, a cry for a savior. But it became a shout of triumph because of the faith of people who utter the word, "Hosanna." They're confident that when they cry out to be saved, God will save them, whether through a person or through some supernatural act.

If you're so very sure that your cry for help will be answered, then "Hosanna" doesn't need to be a plea anymore. It would be wonderful to have that kind of faith on a daily basis, the faith that takes a plea for help and turns it, with faith, into a triumphal declaration.