Joyful In Hope

Romans 12: 9 -12 NIV

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1967, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a sermon in Atlanta, Georgia in which he said this, ‘Yes, I am personally the victim of deferred dreams, of blasted hopes, but in spite of that I close today by saying I still have a dream, because, you know, you can’t give up in life. If you lose hope, somehow you lose that vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you to go on in spite of all. And so today I still have a dream.'

This was to be the last Christmas sermon that Dr King would preach before he was murdered. Amid the Civil Rights movement, he held onto the hope that one day there would be a different future. Hope is powerful: it allows us to dream for a better future, especially in challenging times. Biblical hope is more than just an optimistic state of mind which dismisses our current circumstances; rather it is a hope in a God who knows our pain and can handle the difficult situations. 

Hope and joy go hand in hand. Joy is more than just happiness. It is a deep-rooted state of well-being caused by something exceptionally good. When we lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus and allow him to minister to us, we can experience that deep joy because he is exceptionally good. 

Maybe you are reading this much in a situation like Dr King's - dreams deferred and dashed hopes. I encourage you to go back to the source of joy and hope and put your trust in him.

Prayer — Father, I return to the source of hope and joy and put my trust in you today. Draw close and help me dream again.