Some Thoughts on Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12: 1-3

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4

Keeping in theme with our current sermon series (plus two church studies) on hope, I gathered some ideas to write a devotion. But the more I thought about hope and read about hope, the more uncertain I became about writing this devotion. The first section of the book we’re studying is titled “What Hope Isn’t”. Right away, I felt I needed to make revisions. On the other hand, Mary McKibben Dana also gives us a subjective activity in the beginning: to write a poem using prompts based on our thoughts of “hope”. 

I sometimes think of hope as an attitude. I also think that hope can be like a muscle that improves with use*. I realize that isn’t necessarily the same as spiritual hope, or the hope we find in Jesus, but let’s call it another version of hope for the sake of this devotion.

While writing, I realized some of my impressions of hope were tied to my love of nature.

They are:

•  I think of how I hope to see creatures to photograph when I head out to “the field”. Sometimes I come up short, sometimes I see creatures that are normally elusive, sometimes I capture a “common” creature in the perfect pose, sometimes I don’t find a single living thing to capture. But the hope of the discovery is what drives me to bundle up (or apply massive amounts of bug spray, depending on the season!) and head out, camera in hand.
•  The famous Emily Dickinson poem that we’ve used in our artwork for this sermon series says:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.   - Emily Dickinson

• From the children’s book “Owl Moon”: “when you go owling you don’t need words or warm or anything but hope. The kind of hope that flies on silent wings under a shining Owl Moon.” What I like about this is what it says about only needing hope...in many situations, it can sustain on its own.
• This morning I stopped in the church sanctuary and heard the birds chirping along the south side of the building. It seemed that, like me, they were excited about the warmer temperatures coming today and the rest of the week. What does hope sound like? Those birds!

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the hope that keeps us going! Let us turn to you when we feel hopeless and be grateful for the hope that makes life sustainable. Amen.

Donna Gustafson

*Yes, reader, I know Mary McKibben Dana says something similar in her book…but I didn’t realize our similar phrasing until after starting this devotion!

shown below is the artwork we've used for our sermon series, plus the versions that didn't make the final cut!