Jo Bower's Blog

I Corinthians 13:10

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love

Squeezed between faith and charity is that little word, hope.

I have come to believe the shape of the world today is because so many people no longer have hope. People (with the exception of those who kill to obtain a place in heaven) who fall into addiction and are incited into violence because they think that’s all there is. There is no future, and they might as well as live for today’s pleasures. And then there’s the anger that grows into hate that becomes disdain for society and life. I wonder if it starts with people rebelling against feeling hopeless and helpless.

I do understand in this world of complexities, that might be just bit simple. But it holds up in a lot of instances. Many insightful people in the secular world are looking for ways to give these disenfranchised young people hope so they can find their way out of their present nothingness.

Hope:

That life can be different

That I don’t have to repeat the mistakes of my parents.

That I can be a person of consequence.

That I might be lovable and loved.

That I might make a difference because of being here.

When that hope is pinned upon help from governmental agencies, education, important people I know, family, money, marriage or career, hopes can get smashed very quickly. Many people despair, thinking life cannot be different.  Help can be found in all the agencies we have in place, and people’s lives have been changed by them.

But even after we have received the help we need, there still are times of strong support and times when everything seems to desert us at once. Where is our hope when the hard times return?

Hope.

My hope is in the Lord.

Easy words.

But stronger words never spoken.

Because I have prayed and asked for guidance and wisdom, I have hope:

That I can make wise decisions

About where I put myself

The people I let influence me

The career I follow

The way I spend money

The choice of spouse I make,

How I relate to people around me.

All those things affect the way I end up living my life and the benefits I reap because God makes me into a better person. And when I fail, I find forgiveness and hope that I can start again.

God doesn’t run out of his funds of love or strength or grace or opportunities like people, careers or agencies we put our hope in run short of resources. It is the steadfastness, the all powerfulness, the love that we place our hope in.

And because God never fails, our hope never wavers.

So I Pray: God of hope, give me the wisdom to live my life in a way that reflects the hope I have placed in you. Help me be a representative of what hope can give people the courage to try. By my example, help people understand that in God’s hope there is the possibility of a different life.