Devotion

Being thankful

Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV) – “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I find this verse the most reassuring and poetic piece of Scripture. I’ve heard hope described as fleeting and powerless. While that may be the case for worldly things, hope is enduring and powerful when we put our hope in God. God is everlasting, having created the world, and unfathomable in His understanding. God renews the strength of those who fall and those who are weary. And He invites us to share the hope that comes from Jesus with others who are stuck looking for hope and security in things that will surely fail.

“We often ask God to show up. We pray prayers of rescue. Perhaps God would ask us to be that rescue, to be His body, to move for things that matter. He is not invisible when we come alive. I might be simple but more and more, I believe God works in love, speaks in love, is revealed in our love. We are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. While we don’t get to choose all the endings and we won’t solve all mysteries, and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, it is the best way. We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we’re called home” – Jamie Tworkowski.

God asks us to move for the things that matter. To respond by caring about others. God is not invisible when we do this! He is revealed through our love for others, offering hope to the many hopeless. 

Offering hope to the many hopeless is what Jesus did so powerfully for us on the cross. There’s nothing greater than Jesus’ love. It’s more than we can imagine. Once we accept that love and put our hope in God, we are asked to respond by loving and caring for each other, giving all we can.

Jason Kupke

Chaplain