Blog

There’s a word that I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot in the past few months, and that is hope. I thought about what it means and even wrote a first draft for a blog post. Then my mother took a bad fall and I set writing aside. However, that word wasn’t meant to stay sidelined.

One day last week, my schedule was bookended with Zoom meetings. In preparation for the first, we were encouraged to think about the opening sentence of Romans 8:24a, “For in this hope we were saved.” There’s that word again. In the evening, I participated in an informal meeting of a fellowship group. We were invited to do a brief show-and-tell, and our host went first. She held up a large rectangular pillow, adorned with a single word. You can guess what it was. I felt that God was giving me a nudge. I think the reason that word keeps coming up is because we’ve all had a lot to deal with this past 15 months. Hope helps us put our feet on the floor in the morning, and helps us persevere when the path gets rough. Was there something I could share that would encourage my readers? Perhaps I should write a post because I need to read it, too.

Sometimes a dictionary can shed light on a topic. In this case, it mentions two aspects: hope for and hope in. For example, you might see in the newspaper that people hope for a return to pre-pandemic life, and some put their hope in the vaccines. How about you? There are a multitude of things we can hope for, but I think the central issue is in what or whom we place that hope. We may trust in people, human knowledge, or man-made systems, and these can be very helpful. But they can also disappoint. Scripture tells us, “Hope is the anchor of the soul.”[1] If an anchor is going to hold, it must be set into something secure. The only such security is in God.

The story of God’s people is full of difficulties—and also of promise and hope. Joseph is thrown into a pit by his brothers, and a chain of events is set in motion to save his whole family. King David writhes under the guilt and consequences of his sin, but there is forgiveness and restoration. The nation is taken into exile, but there is the promise of return. The Messiah finally comes—and is brutally executed. Yet, there is purpose even in this: “by his wounds we are healed.”[2] After he is resurrected, he leaves his disciples of every generation with this promise, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”[3]

Hang on to hope, my friends!

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long. – Psalm 25:5

[1] Hebrews 6:19

[2] Isaiah 53:5

[3] Matthew 28:20

(You may also wish to read Paul’s words in Romans 8:37-39 and Romans 12:12)