Listen

Youths will become tired and weary, young men will certainly stumble; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired; they will walk and not be weary.

Isaiah 40:30-31

Think

Hope is one of the most powerful “tools” in our toolbox. In Emily Dickinson’s poem, “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers,” she personifies hope as a bird who sings and never stops. The storm may rage and rage all around, and yet the bird sings and sings. This is the kind of hope we put in God, a hope that never ends, no matter what is happening around us. We hope in the God who renews our strength and lifts us up when we are tired. This enduring hope can be hard to feel, because it takes practice. The expectation isn’t to hope perfectly every time; even scripture says we’ll get tired and stumble sometimes. We will come to those moments when we are tired or anxious about the future. Even in those moments, we can still choose to hope for God’s strength or focus on God’s presence with us. This is how we continue to build our ability to hope over time.

Stephanie Bohannon

Question to Ponder:

What does it feel like when you hope?

Pray

God, thank you for giving me strength in my moments of exhaustion. Sometimes hope feels too hard, and I am not always good at it. Thank you for giving me opportunities to build my hope in you. Thank you for always lifting me up and holding me when I’m tired or weak. As I go through today and tomorrow, help me to find hope in the world you have created. Amen.

Go

When life feels too heavy to keep moving forward, may we remember our hope and strength are in Christ.