Hope is How We Cope

~~~ Romans 8:18-25 ~~~ Psalm 126 ~~~ Luke 13:18-21 ~~~

 

...Seeds...Hope...Yeast...

 

If you have ever planted seeds you hope at least

some of them will germinate.

If you have ever baked bread from scratch you hope

 the yeast will cause the dough to rise.

 

We use the word hope in many different ways.

Maybe we use the word a little too loosely.

I have caught myself 'hoping' for things that truly do not matter.

For example hoping to find a parking space...

...hoping the bus is on time...hoping my son will call.

 

Hope...a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
Hope is the state that promotes the desire for positive outcomes.
Without hope our days would be filled with darkness.

 

Paul sums up for us the real essence of hope.

Paul says it is pointless to hope for those things we already know to be;

 he says hope that sees for itself is not hope.

Hope must apply only to that which we cannot see in advance.

 

...we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.
 

 A healthy dose of hope makes waiting more palatable.
Christopher Reeve said 'Once you choose hope, anything is possible'.
Hope is usually sandwiched between faith and love;
 one of the three virtues we should all should practice daily.
 

 

 I cannot imagine living my life without hope.
I pray for those who have given up;
who have lost their feeling of hope.
For many people around the world today, I fear,
 hope is not even a word in their vocabulary.

Having hope does not mean that we will never
experience disappointments in our life.
Having hope is how we manage to keep going through the desert times...
those times when we do not feel God is with us.
It is precisely in  these times of darkness that we must cling to Hope.
The shape of the upper case letter H can serve as a reminder
to hold on and never give up.

In times of temptation to despair imagine holding on with both hands
 to the horizontal bar in the letter H.
H
Hope keeps us always waiting for God to reveal more of himself to us.
Living in hope we wait for the tiny seed to become the tree.
Living in hope we wait for the yeast to rise up in the dough.
Living in hope we wait for the day when we will be united with God in heaven.

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit.

 Romans 15:13

 

May you be blessed with an increase in your hope.
May it be stronger today than it was yesterday.
Hope always in the loving
merciful saving power of God.