Is it possible to walk into this November Tuesday, with a posture of hope?
Even knowing of the typhoon. And the 10,000 people.
Is hope possible when Syrian children still wander as refugees? When littles taste terror and wear scars of war?
Can we hope despite plane crashes and famines, cancer and nuclear bombs?
Hope is “the feeling that what’s wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best” (Dictionary.com). Can we believe, even though the horrors continue and we see no soon resolve?
I was 22, when I signed up for a Bible study. I showed up to a room full of women over 50. And then there was me, fresh out of college, with a fancy new job and a handsome new husband. Life was nothing but good.
But then, women told their real life stories. They had lost parents and friends. Cancer had stolen their sisters. And many years before, one woman’s tiny baby stopped breathing in her hands.
You’d better believe I left there, praying. Their stories made me scared. But 15 years later, what I remember most about those women was the way they carried on–with hope.
God tells us there will be pain here. There will be suffering. Disease. Disaster. Hatred. War.
But we want to read on past that in our Bibles, don’t we? Because we don’t want to bear those losses! I know I’m not the only one who prays, Lord, please, don’t let me go through something like that.
Today, the world is heavy with disaster…but may we live light, because of hope. Because we–who believe–were at one time enemies of God, and alienated from Him. But Jesus fought for us. He brought peace between believers and God Most High. And Jesus will bring peace again. He’s the only real hope we have.
Will you move into this day, this night, with hope? Just don’t keep it all to yourself. Give some hope away today.
Let us pray for the suffering. Donate our dollars, even when they feel small. And whatever comes, Do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
*If you want to provide urgent relief for typhoon survivors, click here to donate to Compassion International, who are there, in the Philippines, spreading hope.
