Colorado, wild fires left ashes where homes and
forests used to be. Even with oft-repeated pictures of
charred neighborhoods and wind-splintered houses,
shock remains our first reaction. People gingerly step
while searching for something that can be reclaimed,
something that escaped what their homes did not. The
question is inevitably asked: What next?
one we kissed good-bye in the morning is taken away in death before the
setting sun, when all we have built is washed away like some child's sand
castle, that question demands an answer even before the full impact of loss
can be measured. What next?
nothing so secure that it could not be taken, nothing so strong that it could
withstand the blow. What next? In quiet submission, David whispered, "But
now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you" (Psalm 39:7).
next step. All that tricks us into thinking that we own it and that we are in
control will someday leave not a trace it existed. The child of God throws
himself into the arms of the Almighty lover of his soul and hears Him whisper,
"I'm what's next." Therefore, we hope.
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emphasis of this month's War Cry. "I hope this happens,"
"I hope it doesn't rain on our picnic," "I hope I get a
(fill in the blank) for Christmas," "I hope the Washington
Nationals win the pennant this year"--these all give
some sense of what we believe hope to be: a belief
in some occurrence, with no guarantee or evidence
that it will happen. Some might see it as merely wishful
thinking.
it as their home, even though they had never lived there, never even seen it.
How could they think of it in that way? Because God had promised it would
be theirs, and they believed Him. They knew something would happen; it had
just not happened yet.
between the giving of the promise and its fulfillment. It also recognizes the
character of the one making the promise, so when God says something it can
be believed, it can be trusted, because it is God who is saying it.
live as people of hope, who live as people with hope. Because "in His great
mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1.3). And we can trust God.
Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever childlike, no cares can destroy.
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