Faith in everyday life
Hope is not pretending everything will be fine tomorrow. It is something to hold when the feeling is not enough. Paul calls God the God of hope — he fills, you do not scrape it together yourself. Mercy is new in the morning. On a hard day: hold on to one hope, take the next step with patience and pray a short prayer. Not everything at once.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
What it means
The God of hope can fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Hope is given. It is not scraped together.
How you can live it
When the future feels thin: ask the God of hope to fill you. You do not collect it with good results.
It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
What it means
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies are new every morning.
How you can live it
In the morning: ‘new mercy today’. You do not have to carry yesterday as a backpack.
rejoicing in hope; enduring in troubles; continuing steadfastly in prayer;
What it means
Joy here is not that everything is fun. It is that hope still has a place when it hurts. Patience and prayer are how you stay — not how you pretend it is easy.
How you can live it
On a hard day: hold on to one hope, take the next step with patience, and pray a short prayer. Not everything at once.
A prayer
God of hope, I do not have much to bring. You fill, and hold me in what is still grey. Amen.