Day 34: The Hope of Faith
Scripture to meditate on: Romans 8:24-25 Faith and Hope
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Devotional:
There is a sign above my office door that says “HOPE” in large letters, with the outline of a person kneeling, planting a seed. Seeds are the most physical representation of hope I can think of, and it reminds me of one of my favorite children’s stories called “The Carrot Seed.”
“The Carrot Seed” is the story of a boy who, in faith, plants a seed. His family tells him that it “won’t come up”, but he carefully waters it and weeds around it every day. He waits, and continues to be told “it won’t come up.”
One day, the carrot top BURSTS out of the ground “just as the little boy had known it would.”
The little boy in the story never doubted that the seed would produce fruit. I’d like to think this says something about our Heavenly Father and the seed of hope that he plants in us. For me, that seed of hope is the presence of God in our daily lives. Our Father is secure in his knowledge of the fruit that will burst forth, but we have to daily wait on his perfect tending and timing.
Maybe we are more like the boy in the story, or maybe we are more like the family members who think “it won’t come up”. Either way, God planted a seed of hope in each one of us. In this season of Advent, let’s ask ourselves what our hope is in.
Questions to ponder:
- What does this passage say about God?
- What does this passage say about me or my relationships?
- What should I do in light of this passage?
