Everywhere I look there are people who are hurting. Co-workers and their spouses struggle on with the unending and ultimately losing battle with cancer. The homeless in New York struggle to find a spot to sleep. An addict pleads for money on a street corner. Even the healthy ones with homes to go to face battles within that threaten to overwhelm even the strongest at any moment. Conflicts tear at the corners of our lives, bombs kill innocent children, and people celebrate another's anguish.
It is almost too easy to let the pain consume one's thoughts. After a time, one puts this to the side to try and push on with the matters at hand. You almost feel guilty about letting things go, but you find no other alternative. Yet, one thirsts and looks for the hope that will provide a response that makes sense of what is going on all around.
Solomon noted that “when the wicked die, that's it – the story's over, end of hope.” (Proverbs 11.7) While true, it also implies that while each of us live there is still hope. I find within my journey the one thing that encourages, nurtures, and strengthens is hope. I also see hope as something each of us cling to and at the same time continue to reach out for something that is stronger, better.
The best hope I have found is with God. God offers us a new life, a new experience, and a fresh journey; now, not some time in the future. I find that God is fighting the same causes I find important; injustice, pain, and suffering. He is also looking to restore broken hearts, relationships, and dreams. He is in the hope business!
God offers you and I hope today. He took an action that gives Him the right and privilege of giving you and me an unconditional gift. I do not understand why, but we are extremely important. His hope comes without conditions and goes with us throughout our lives. Today, I will hold on in faith and live in trust.
