In the past week’s meditations we have looked at reasons for inexplicable hope in God’s promises. We’ve seen the examples of Jeremiah and Lazarus. We’ve been challenged to participate in bringing and being hope to people in need. We’ve been reminded that our security is not in material possessions but in eternal things. And we’ve been encouraged to remember that the home we all hope for is found in God.

Today’s reading gives us more reasons for hope. Listen to these incredible promises made to all who have made their home in God. To believers, God says, I “will rescue . . . protect . . . answer . . . deliver . . . and honor” you. And if that isn’t enough, God also adds, “With long life I will satisfy [you].”

But while we have basked in the wonders of hope this week, it is also important to say what hope is not. It is not the belief that everything is or will be fine. Everywhere we look we see suffering and despair. Whether on a global, local, or personal scale, we often feel as if we’re hurtling toward some imminent catastrophe. The things we see as fundamental to our identity may be gone or quickly fading away. We may feel we are being enveloped in darkness.

What do we do in days like these? How do we find courage to hope? How do we respond to the darkness? In the shadow of despair, we are to turn toward the darkness of this world with God’s light of love. As we work to bring hope for those in despair we will find our own darkness turning to light. When we dare to give our lives for others of God’s people, we find we are moving closer to God, in whom our hope has always been grounded.