First Baptist Church of Herndon

Then there is Hope

Linda Soller | Apr 13, 2020

Not having an Easter service at the physical church was hard. But our online worship is a clear illustration of how our congregation loves and respects each other and our community. We care enough to be responsible citizens. We make that sacrifice out of love and concern for others.  We worship together, just differently than we are accustomed to. As Christians we know we must live and walk in faith. When there is faith, then there is hope.

For the season of Lent Pastor Sean offered a book study. The book was “God Loves Justice” by Jessica Nicholas. The topic was very interesting to me. I have to be honest, most of the book, while informative, felt very much like a research paper. But then I read chapter 16. Suddenly the author wrote with passion, feeling, and conviction. The title of chapter 16 is “God of Hope.” Hope is so fundamental to our faith. How can it not evoke our emotions and our passions? There are two quotes from her book I want to share here. The first is that “hope is a perspective, not the amount of information you have.” That is the very reason hope is so powerful. It transcends basic reason and is there for all. Soon after she writes, “It’s totally possible, Jesus’ victory over sin brings us into a lifestyle of hope, courage, strength, and resiliency – even when we face seemingly impossible problems.” Could this statement be any more appropriate for what our world is facing right now? Her book was written in 2017. You see, hope is eternal and can’t be confined to a single time period.

I want us all to embrace the perspective of hope. It will not prevent hardship or worldly problems. But when your stress levels rise and your heart aches for solutions remember you have your faith and two amazing gifts from God. The first gift is His eternal love, and then there is hope!

He is risen indeed!

Be humble, be grateful, and be love in our world this week! :o) Linda