By Lance Mayes
Psalm 62:1-2, 5-7
I really love our mission statement: “We are a people of hope seeking to proclaim the love of Christ.” Hope is one of my favorite words. I’ve known too many people who had no hope. They felt they had nowhere to turn, nowhere to go. They thought that no one cared. They felt like no one would miss them if they were gone. What a sad place to be.
We see in our verses for today that in God we find hope.
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
I’ve been there — felt like there was no hope. No one understood. That part was likely correct; no one truly understood what I was experiencing. But there was hope. People did care. God always cares.
I tend to deal with feelings of hopelessness in two extremes. One, I busy myself and try to forget those feelings. I become a human doing instead of a human being. Two, I withdraw. I get quiet. I don’t share what is going on. These options are not really “waiting quietly before God.”
A third way is the best way. Remember that God alone provides hope. God may give hope through a still, quiet voice, through nature, through people, or through other means. We can “wait quietly before God” and let God remind us that we matter, that we are loved.
Then, we need to pass on that hope to others. For “we are a people of hope seeking to proclaim the love of Christ.” How can you share hope and the love of Christ? A smile? A listening ear? An encouraging note? A kind word? A thoughtful gift?
May God bless us and make us a blessing to many.