Hope

Happy New Year

Photo by Douglas Bagg on Unsplash

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me (Micah 7:7).

I choose “hope” as my word for 2025. It’s a beautiful little word that always seems to shine bright with promise. Hope inspires courage, helps build resilience, expresses faith, and fuels endurance.

Of one thing I’m certain, hope cannot ultimately be found in world leaders, governments, political power, or utopian ideologies. It can only be anchored in the one Micah called “the Lord, God my Savior.” Only He has the power to bring about that for which we so fervently hope.

Perhaps lately your hope seems more like a flickering candle in the wind, about to blow out. You’ve prayed and prayed, and God has not answered. Meaning and purpose has dimmed. Perhaps you’re thinking, “I don’t understand my life.”

This is why hope needs to be paired with faith, so that we will not give up. Faith is believing what we hope for (Hebrews 11:1). It remains confident that “my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7b).

What are you hoping God will do for you? Hope bolstered by faith always remains expectant. As Emily Dickinson says, Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.

Prayer: We believe, watch, and wait because our hope is in You, Lord. Help us tune out the chatter of the enemy, and instead, tune into the uplifting songs You sing every day.