Never Alone with Hope

Never Alone with Hope

Good Morning Friends,

Perhaps it is rare for a child to grasp this but somehow early on in my life I discovered that there was something unseen and invisible I could trust. It remains part of me even now. I cannot really explain the deep comfort and assurance positioned in my life by this experience. I still confidently wait for more and am not disappointed. The old is still there but the plan and promise….the dream and desire…the prospect and potential of something new helps me realize that in the anticipation I am Never Alone with Hope.

Scripture: I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13 (NRSV)

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.

Isaiah 43:1-4 (NRSV)

Message: Remember the movie Home Alone. The story is of a family, a dysfunctional family that goes on a Christmas vacation and leaves one of their children at home. In the face of a worst case scenario where one might anticipate harm we get something surprising… the boy hiding in an outdoor Nativity scene.  What strikes me about the movie is that you never get the anxiety that the kid left behind is actually alone. It is as if the boy is surrounded by wise men and shepherds throughout the movie always showing resourcefulness in the face of a challenging situation.  The only person that you get the feeling might actually be lonely is an older male neighbor with a beard, and he is ultimately joined in the fellowship, helping save the boy in the darkest hour facing the wet bandits. In the end we laugh at fear as it becomes clear, that like today’s scripture, even through the deep waters of life that we really are never really alone when we have hope. There is strength in the hope of a Christmas that does not turn grace into merchandise but somehow recognizes that we are loved and can love with a closeness and tenderness of a mother singing lullabies to a child of God.

Pray we embrace the promise of protection. Pray we are never afraid of the future. Pray we commit to God’s plan with confidence and courage. Pray we believe in the eternal power and presence of the Lord. Pray we realize that our worst anxieties will never diminish God’s power. Pray we are sustained by faith in the possibility of salvation offered by God in Christ. Pray we believe we are never alone with hope.

Blessings,

John Lawson