Unfailing Hope

From the Catacomb of St. Callistus, 217-222 AD

The anchor was often used as a symbol of hope among the early Christians.

Christ our Hope, in this life and eternity.

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I’m stuck. I don’t know which way to go or what to do. I’m tired of myself. I’m tired of the same old harms and the same old sufferings. I can’t see. I can’t hear. I can’t think. I can’t breathe. I’m afraid. All I see is darkness. I’m drowning. I can’t save myself.

And then I turn my attention to the Living Word. For it is trustworthy and certain.

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A Liturgy of Scriptural Hope

LEADER - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil,
PEOPLE - to give you a future and a hope.

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

But they who wait for the Lord
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.

...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for he who promised is faithful.

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

And hope does not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again
to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

[Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing,
but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.

For God alone, O my soul,
wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.

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Now, Silence…

Pause. Be still.

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Respond

What has God spoken to you about hope: just now or recently or ever?

What are you hoping for?

Where have you lost hope? Where is maintaining hope a struggle?

Reflect on a line or phrase or verse from the Tozer reflection or the scripture liturgy.