She Reads Truth: Songs of AscentSample

Yesterday we were reminded of a vital word, a gift straight from God’s hand: Hope. In today’s reading, the psalmist affirms not only our desperate need for this hope but its never ending, never failing source. “Where will my help come from? Who will help me now?” We’ve all felt it - the uncertainty, pain or fear that leaves us on the brink of despair. Perhaps you are feeling it today as you rise to meet what greets you. We close our eyes and drink in the truth like water: He is our hope. Whether today brings joy or sorrow, triumph or tragedy, bright and shiny blessings or the quiet, hidden kind, our hope is the same. Hear that, Sisters. Our circumstances do not change our Hope. I picture us, thousands of women reading these very scriptures on this very day together. Our lives and surroundings, our days and our hearts--we are all different. We have a myriad of fears and joys and challenges among us, but we have a singular hope. Ours is the hope that has proved faithful since the time of Abraham, since Hope Himself promised Abraham the impossible and delivered on that promise. The same God who was the hope of Abraham is our hope. The same God who watched over Israel watches over you and me. He is our collective hope and help as the Church, one body of believers stretching worldwide, our Bibles and journals and coffee spread out before us in the morning light. He is our personal, intimate hope as individuals, our keeper and the One who watches over our going out and our coming in. He is by our side, always close at hand. He is the good shepherd, truly, and He cares for every. single. sheep. “Even the smallest?” you ask. “Even the clumsy and awkward ones? The impatient and ill-equipped, the frustrated and frightened?” Especially those. This life is unsure. Our circumstances are unsure. Our God, He is sure. And He is our hope.