Thursday August 3, 2023

Today is Thursday, August 3 and we are studying what the Bible says about hope.

I quiet my busy mind and center myself on the presence of the God who loves me. As I slow my breathing, I inhale God’s goodness and peace and exhale negative thoughts, worries or concerns.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, you are Lord of my life and King of my day. In all things, I place my hope in you. Walk with me on this pilgrim journey, remind me of your presence, strengthen my steps and encourage my heart. Amen.

God is a God of hope. I rejoice in his goodness and praise him with the words of Psalm 62.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. Psalm 62:5-6

Pause and Pray

In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us that we are living in the “in between times.” At Creation God made all things good. The Fall of humanity destroyed that goodness and separated humanity from God forever. The goodness of Creation was forever marred and distorted. What happened to the world through Adam and Eve will be set right by God in the final transformation in Jesus Christ his Son. Jesus is the full expression of God coming into the world and provides the complete restoration of all things at the end of time. Because of Jesus and through Jesus all of Creation will be restored.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:22-25

The process of restoration has already begun. The created world and all of humanity yearns, longs, and groans to be set free from the yoke of corruption. The world yearns like a mother yearns for the delivery of her child in the pangs of labor. We wait for the complete fulfillment of God’s kingdom on earth through Jesus Christ. In that waiting, I hope. Knowing that God is already at work in my life and my circumstances, restoring, healing, transforming and knitting all things together for good. I grieve and cry for the pain, suffering, violence, oppression, hatred, pollution and disease that I see every day and know it is not God’s will for the world. God desires complete and utter restoration of goodness.

Ask: What grieves me most about the world in which I live? How can I pray for God’s goodness to enter in and transform things?

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord, as I peruse the morning sky and celebrate the beauty of nature, I sense the groaning of your beautiful Creation. I too groan inwardly as I wait eagerly for my full redemption and adoption. I hope in the joy of my salvation and thank you for your Son Jesus my Savior. I hope for a future where sin and death, suffering and pain are no more. I read the words from Romans again and listen for the message you have for me.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:22-25

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

I consider the emotions this passage evokes for me. Do I feel energy, anticipation and longing for God’s transformation? Or do I feel frustrated and impatient with current circumstances? I consider a specific situation in my life which is of concern. I reflect on how this passage from Romans informs the situation. I listen with the ear of my heart and repeat the word or phrase that stands out to me. I record it in my journal and keep in mind that God may speak to me later throughout my day giving me insight and wisdom.

Pause and Pray

Holy and Loving God, I invite you into my home, relationships, and circumstances. Reveal the places of corruption, brokenness and shallowness. Bring your healing light of transformation, shining love where there is darkness, illuminating knowledge where there is ignorance and bringing hope where it is absent. Amen.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:3-4

I leave this time of prayer filled with a living hope. I go to encourage others and love them in the name of Jesus.

Amen