Hope, No Matter What 

(our theme for September)

Psalm 119:114

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.

Are there any scriptural passages that provide you comfort and hope? 

Psalms certainly provide that for many people. Throughout my life, I’ve known lots of folks for whom Psalm 23 gives them hope.

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He restores my soul. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”

How could one not be comforted by this Psalm? Another that provides people hope is Psalm 121.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. The sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night.”

Again, what beautiful language and imagery, especially for those of us in East Tennessee, to remind us of the comfort and guidance that God give us. 

My favorite passage was featured earlier this month on this podcast. If you missed Bernice Howard’s devotion on it, I encourage you to look it up.

This passage is found in the 8th chapter of Romans, verses 38 and 39:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Friends, if you’re like me, there are days when I feel like I am letting everyone down, or I’m just not being the best version of myself. For me, though, it is this inseparableness from the love of God that brings me hope — the understanding that, even when I mess up, even when I do things that are completely unlovable, God still loves me. Even when things are overwhelming or messy or chaotic, or when it seems like evil is winning in this world, this pure, uncontaminated goodness is available to me and to all of us. And I can hope again.

Let us pray.

God, we give you thanks for the matchless love you show us that exceeds what we deserve. On those days when we need hope, when we need a hiding place or a shield to guard us from the chaos and consternation, help us to remember the passages in scripture that renew us, that sustain us, and that give us hope. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Dwight Dockery.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. 

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.