Weekend Thought: What do you hope for in your lives?

They are hoping for a windfall: they are hoping for a better job: they are hoping for all the riches that money can bring.

They are hoping ‘for the best,’ they are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that things will turn out right.

The Christian message is full of hope but it is not based on wishing or longing. Our hope is grounded in the reality of God’s love for us. As the hymn says, ‘All my hope on God is founded’.

God loves us so much that he came into our world in Jesus. People listened to him and were inspired by his words, which transformed their lives.

He was crucified and suffered a cruel death but that wasn’t the end! He rose from the dead on that first Easter Day.

He understands all that it means to be a human being – pains and joys, hopes and fear – because he has been here. He continues to share with us in our daily life, giving us all that we need to live our lives. We can also be assured that death is not the end. We have the promise of eternal life with him.

So, we do not need to ‘touch wood’ for things to be alright or ‘hope for the best’ or ‘hope against hope’.

Whoever we are, whatever we have done, whatever is going on in our lives, God will be there for us.

All that we have to do is to open our lives to the presence of God and he promises to be there for us always.

May our hope be founded on a sure foundation and not on worldly hopes.

Canon Stephen Bradberry