Grace and Hope

“All we can do is do our best, until we learn differently!” This phrase was said by a very wise thirty-something as part of a conversation. I found it to be a non-judgmental statement of acceptance of where things are at in this time of chaos and disruption, but with hope being offered as well for future improvements.  What moved me as I heard it was the grace and hope that were so freely offered. 

Amazing how God’s presence and grace appear in the middle of a conversation, in the ordinariness of life! It is so unexpected that we are surprised and caught off guard by it. And at the opposite end, we may have those times when we find ourselves praying unceasingly for guidance. We may find ourselves longing for an answer for what the future may hold. Questions like, “when will life get back to “normal” or “what will a “new normal” look like?” flood our thoughts.    

The grace so freely offered and our hope for today, tomorrow, and into eternal life are encompassed in our loving God. We find in 1 Peter 20-21...

He was destined before the foundation of the world,
but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.
Through him you have come to trust in God,
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are set on God.

and then in John 1:16...

Out of his fullness we have all received
grace in place of grace already given.

Our Hope is in God, through Jesus and as well as the Grace that we have so abundantly already been given.  In our everydayness of life, in doing our best in these pandemic circumstances, we have been given more than what we could ever imagine- Hope and Grace through Jesus. 

– Pastor Cheryl Szabo 

Prayer

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

– Romans 15:13