April 14 – Our “Hope” Inventory

There is a revealing practice we can make use of during our devotional time, one that could help us to a strength of life and purpose we may never otherwise have known . . . indeed, that we could not know without the discipline of hope.

Just as top military commanders spend the last days and the last hours before battle making sure of the little details that can mean big failure if a supply route can be cut off or if insufficient fuel has been ordered, we in Cor Unum can take the time to make sure our hope is full in every arena, on every battlefield, of our life in Christ.

At the cost of pencil and paper . . . and prayer and faith . . . we can spend a little time and make sure that there are no pockets of life where we have lost hope. There may have been redirection and there may be seasons of patient waiting, but are we still completely hopeful, that is to say, are we FULL OF HOPE concerning our neighbors, the ones with whom we have shared what we know to be true of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we HOPEFUL or DOUBTFUL concerning them? Perhaps someone else is ministering to them now, but what about our HOPE? Is it vibrant, sure, and fixed?

Is our hope unwavering concerning our children and our marriages, or have circumstances taken their toll? Are we more hopeful or more hurt? More hopeful or more harassed? More hopeful or more a hindrance to the work of God in our homes?

Are we confident concerning our churches and all the rest of the Body of Christ in our towns and villages? We know God has an unfailing and undiminished plan and purpose for them? Is our hope as unfailing and undiminished as His power and patience?

Let’s sharpen our pencils today and sharpen our faith. Each of us has a measure sufficient to keep us in hope at every point. If we find the list of items growing long on unresolved issues characterized by sparsity of hope, we may begin bringing those things to God and asking that He would restore our hope. Even in places where we cannot accomplish, and sometimes especially in places where we cannot accomplish, we can hope again, like the devoted monastics we are, here in Cor Unum.


"Come, Buy Wine and Milk,
Without Money and Without Cost"
photo by Kerry