Like certain energy sources, hope is renewable. And hope is fuel for our souls. 

Early in the morning before I read the news, I open the Bible. I look on the words that God has written for me (and for all), finding them to be very different from most of what I read elsewhere. These words speak of hope and they strengthen me. As they should: “Those who Hope in the Lord shall renew their strength!” (Isaiah 40:31)

We just began a new worship series at Galilee called “Hope Renewed” and one person at church asked me, “Can you be hopeful in times like these? Really? Look around you.”  I get it. Things can look rather gloomy even at the start of a new year! There are wars and conflicts abroad. There is violence, crime, and addiction in our own communities. A leading cause of what happens on a day to day basis seems to be not hope, but its opposite: despair. 

Despair and darkness are no joke, and I’m not immune. The sunrise seems a long time coming when I’m up early with my coffee. The darkness lingers as I begin to scan the headlines. Now why read the news if I’m interested in hope, rather than despair? I’ll tell you why. Because I’m not really interested in keeping up with current events, but I am interested in praying the news. I pray for people where they are struggling. Even though I am hesitant to look at some of these difficult headlines, I am eager to pray.

Hope, after all, is real. It’s more than wishful thinking, or ignoring bad news. It’s different from keeping an optimistic outlook. Hope is centered in the message and reality of Jesus Christ, who came to change the world.

And news flash! Christ has renewed the world! He renewed our spirits and has given us the tools to remain a hopeful people. We have a present and a future that are grounded in the good news of God’s grace. How can we not be hopeful? How can we not pray for this gift to be given to all mankind? 

So rather than my hope being diminished by what I see in the headlines, I bring my hope to the news and ask for God’s mercy and grace to be poured out over the people in the stories I read.

Just like the winter daylight seems short, the disasters of the world seem to make the darkness around us more difficult. But hope kept burning in the darkness is hope that is alive!

Our faith teaches us to trust God‘s promises. God is faithful and will keep His promises. He is be present with us through everything. That is a headline of hope! And there are so many others: the gift of life; the covenant of shalom; the promise of forgiveness; the reality of Easter! Christ delivers new life!

This is a hope that renews us in the face of dark times.