Gospel Hope

"For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance." Rom 8:25

Rightly, St. Paul insists that hope requires endurance. We must wait each day, sometimes each hour, to be filled with what God hopes for us. Anything else or less is a hope of our own making which Paul reminds us is not the hope of which the Gospel speaks.

This is a hard lesson. Most of us want what we want when we want it, and sometimes in a cosumerist world this seems possible. We can go to a local food market and buy a favorite bread, cereal or meal and convince ourselves that with a little more prayer we can do the same in the world of the Spirit. When we do this for others it even seems laudable. Praying for the health of sick child is good, but expecting that our prayers will be answered in the way we design is a mirage.

Gospel hope demands that we place ourselves before God and ask only for what is best for all and to proclaim God's reign. When we do this we are filled with hope because we know that God wants only what is good for us and for all, and will provide us with the strength we need to do what brings glory to God. Painfully, this prayer does not assure us we will receive what we pray for, but only that God will be with us in all that we do and become. Endurance in this kind of prayer assures us that our faith is growing and of God.

Today, pray for God's hope for the world.

What is your biggest struggle in faith??