Nourish Your Hope
Is your hope alive? If it is, are you caring for this hope?
Verse of the Day
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,
Today’s Devotional
Have you ever considered that the hope you have is living?
Because of the mercy of God, when I believe in Jesus as the Son of God who died and rose for my salvation, I am made into a new creation born into a LIVING hope. I’m just going to assume that this living hope is for my earthly life, and the promised inheritance is for when I die (or when Jesus returns, whichever comes first).
OK, so the living hope part is for today. What does that mean? Let’s think about other living things. When a baby is born, it is fragile. The baby must be fed, cared for and given attention and affection to grow and become healthy. As a child, adolescent and adult, we still need all of those same things. Well, what if we looked at our hope in the same way? We may or may not be brand new Christians, but if we are just realizing that we are born into a living hope, we might as well treat it as though it’s brand new.
If my hope is new, it is fragile. I need to protect this hope from the terrors of this world, and that might look different for each of us. For me, it may mean turning off the news. For you, it may mean removing yourself from some negative people in your life. It might mean fasting from social media. No matter what it looks like, I need to “baby” this newfound living hope. If I am going to feed my hope, I can think of no better nourishment than the Word of God. If I read the Bible and I don’t understand, then I need to ask for help, pray for understanding, read commentaries, watch The Bible Project videos, whatever it takes to nourish my hope in God. To care for my hope, I need to give it room to grow. This assumes the need for growth. This assumes imperfection. I need to invite the Holy Spirit for help in caring for my hope. To give attention to my hope, I need to be reminded often about God’s faithfulness. The best way I know how to do that is to write things down. Hence the journaling. To give affection to my hope, I need to praise the God who made it possible.
Another option is to ignore this process altogether. What happens to your body and mind when you neglect their care? Health crises, stress, worry, negativity and cynicism, lethargy: these are all potential outcomes for neglecting to care for our bodies and minds, just to name a few. What if neglecting to care for this precious living hope we have been given has the same effects?
The hope we have is a gift and it is living. We need to have gratitude for the opportunity to have this living hope, and we need to treat it like the precious gift that it is.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How can you care for your hope today?
What do you need to do to nourish your hope today?
How can you praise God for His mercy?
How can you thank Him for giving you hope?