If you are like me, you can get very anxious about an event coming in the future that
you feel might turn out to be less than successful. I need to constantly remind myself
that hope is not mainly concerned about future events but about what is happening
now. What brings hope is a relationship with a God whose love has my back and will
be there for me no matter what the future holds. This kind of hope allows me to live in
Jesus’ words, “Come to me you who are heavily burdened, and you will find rest.”
Living with this kind of hope will let me relax in God’s love and lead me to a joy from
within which is like “walking on water through a storm on the lake.” “If God is for me
who can be against me?” This kind of hope and joy also takes faith. Relying on God in
the past will allow me to trust in a God who brings me into the present and the
experience of peace. Our Holy Cross Associates have a saying that focuses on the same
conclusion: “We are men and women with zeal and hope to bring.” This is God’s
promise to those who strive to live a Christian life.”
- Do the words “The cross is our only hope” make sense to you?
- Does finding hope lead you to feelings of joy?
- Does the call to be “people with zeal and hope to bring” give you a specific focus
for your ministry?
O God, help me be a person whose hope leads to inner feelings of joy.