Active Hope

by Pastor Debra Bronkema | May 15, 2024 | connect.faith, Everyday Spirituality: The Blog

Romans 8:24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

What are we hoping for today? Are we hoping for something that will take us out of a problem we feel stuck in? Are we hoping for a change in something that feels too much bigger than us for us to have any effect on its outcome? The picture at the top of the page is from a garden of peonies donated by a community in Japan to a community in New York. It feels to me as though this was a gift of hope for something bigger than a beautiful flower.

Sometimes hoping seems like we aren’t doing anything. But active hope walks in the direction of what we are hoping for – what the spirit is leading us to do and be. Active hope says yes to the possibility that change can happen. This kind of hope trusts in something bigger than ourselves, standing in faith in the presence of the Love of God with us.

Hoping with patience doesn’t have to mean sitting still. It can mean walking in hope, choosing actions that believe what we are hoping for can be true, even before we can see it.

Reflection Questions:

1) What are you hoping for in your life right now?

2) If what you are hoping for is different (in the direction you are hoping for) a year from now, what will you wish you’d done today?

3) What could you start or stop doing that would help you live into your hope?

Prayer: Dear Lord – Help me to keep moving in the direction of the hope you have placed in my soul. In Jesus Name, Amen

One sentence summary: Help us to let our hope move in us.