Monday, May 4
Genesis 1:26-31
Then God said, “Let us make human in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
So God created humans in his image,
in the image of God he created them
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Yesterday Pastor Paul began a new series called “Cultivating Hope in Distrustful Times.” He talked about cynicism and how that can lead to distrust.
As people of faith our hope comes out of a promise that God gives to us. We have hope because God has hopes for us as humans.
We see this hope from God in the reading from Genesis. Though the word “hope” is not in the story, the story is full of hope.
We can see God’s hope in this story. Many don’t believe that this is how humans were created, but the story does share a foundational reality of our creation. God had hope for humans.
Humans were created in the image of God. God blessed humans to develop the earth. God had hope that humans would develop the earth in a way that was sustainable and pleasing.
When God looked at everything that was created, God judged the creation. And the judgment was shared in verse 31. “God saw everything that [God] had made and indeed it was very good.”
God’s hope for humanity comes out of the goodness of humans. Inside of every person is this sense of goodness. Even in distrustful times we can claim this goodness.
How does the goodness of humans lead you to have an orientation of hope? Please share.
Tuesday, May 5
2 Samuel 7:4-17
But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel, and I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and be disturbed no more, and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel, and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever”. In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
Like the reading yesterday, God shared a vision in these verses. The vision came out of a question David had for God. He wanted to know if a structure should be built in which the ark would reside. David asked the prophet Nathan to inquire of God.
God shared a vision for David through Nathan. Which can be helpful to us about the need to have spiritual friends. Sometimes God works through our friends to share a vision.
God had a grand vision for David which went far beyond having a structure built for the ark. God was going to establish a line of people through David. God would never take away the divine love from David as had been taken away from Saul.
This was a humbling vision for David. To read his response to this vision, read the rest of 2 Samuel 7.
This vision gave hope to David. He had a calling for what he was to do based on what God had promised. This leads us to see that hope comes from a promise. In this case, it’s the promise that God gave to David.
What promises of God give you hope? Please share.
Wednesday, May 6
Hosea 2:16-20
On that day, says the Lord, you will call me “my husband,” and no longer will you call me “my Baal.” For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more. I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground, and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.
Once again, we read a passage that doesn’t share the word, “hope” but is also full of hope.
God promised Hosea a covenant or contract. God would take Israel as a covenant partner. God compared the partnership to a relationship between a man and a wife. The last two verses of this chapter share the “hopes” of God.
And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord.” Hosea 2:19-20
God had hope for the relationship between God and Israel. This hope was expressed in a relationship of righteousness, steadfast love, and mercy. This relationship centered God’s hopes in humanity.
How do you experience and see hope in this passage? Please share.
Thursday, May 7
Luke 10:25-28
An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
Once again, we read a passage that describes hope even though the passage does not include the word, “hope.”
In this very familiar story, a lawyer asked Jesus what a person needed to do eternal life. The response is well known. People are to love God with all their heart and soul and mind and to love their neighbor as themselves. This love of God and love of neighbor as people love themselves contains the hope that God has for humans.
One way to think of God’s hope is intention. God has this intention that humans will love God back and will love their neighbors as they love themselves.
What are some ways you’ve seen this intention of God’s recently? Please share.
Friday, May 8
Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Hope does not mean that life will always go as each of us intends for it to go. In these familiar words the Apostle Paul talked about the relationship of suffering to hope.
Often when people suffer it seems that God is against humans. But the Apostle Paul was saying that this idea was wrong. Suffering can actually lead to hope as suffering leads to endurance which leads to character which leads to hope.
He shared that hope does not disappoint us. (Romans 5:5a)
This is a transformation view of human suffering. When people suffer, that suffering can lead to hope.
With this understanding of the relationship between suffering and hope, we can understand how the Apostle Paul would say that people could boast in their sufferings. They could actually look forward to suffering as suffering will inevitably lead to hope.
This might seem impossible for some—and understandably so. But this vision of hope is a powerful one that can be very helpful.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.
Saturday, May 9
Romans 8:31-39
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Apostle Paul didn’t use the word, “hope” in this passage, but these verses radiate hope. Paul wanted people to know that nothing can separate people from the love of God. God’s love is always with us, no matter what the circumstance.
The greatest example of this enduring love is the death of Jesus. God did not withhold the death of Jesus but instead gave him as a sacrifice for the rest of humanity. This gift is powerful.
Paul shared seventeen ideas or characteristics that could separate people from God’s love. But none of them do. Those seventeen ideas or characteristics are hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, life, angels, rulers, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth, anything else in all creation.
This reality gives us hope.
Have you had an experience where God’s love continued for you even if you experienced one of these seventeen? Please share.
