A HOPE THAT MUST BE DARED

M.J. Layton

Hope must be dared. 

Hope only happens when we cannot see its object. “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?” (Romans 8:24) We dare to hopefor the unseen; we refuse to believe that the world around us, with all its suffering, is all there is.

Job was a man who dared to hope. The story recounted in the Book of Job tells us that he was a wealthy and righteous man who lost all his belongings, his family, and his health, in a test of faith designed by the Accuser and allowed by God. In the midst of all his suffering, he says these words:

“For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;
and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see on my side,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” 
(Job 19:25-27)

Today may we dare to hope in God our Redeemer, regardless of what happens around us.