And So, We Have Hope

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All who are oppressed may come to you as a shelter in the time of trouble, a perfect hiding place. May everyone who knows your mercy keep putting their trust in you, for they can count on you for help no matter what. O Lord, you will never, no never, neglect those who come to you.
He will not ignore forever all the needs of the poor, for those in need shall not always be crushed. Their hopes shall be fulfilled, for God sees it all!

Psalm 9:9-10, 18 TPT 


Sometimes, I really hate having access to the Internet right at my fingertips. I can literally swipe right on my phone and immediately see five different headlines of terrible things happening across the world. It seems that every week, there’s a new atrocity being committed by humans against other humans. I scroll through my news feed and see post after post about the awful things people are doing to one another. It’s really easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless in light of the constant stream of news that shows us how hateful and selfish humanity can be.

I don’t know about you, but when major crises happen, I get stuck in this cycle of, “What can I even do? How can I help stop this? I’m just one me…” These past couple of weeks, it’s been absolutely awful to watch the human rights violations taking place at our border. Children are being taken away from their parents in our home state and I feel totally helpless. I wonder where God is in all this? I’m told God is an all loving God, so God must hear the cries of these people, just as God heard the cries of the Israelites in Egypt.

This Psalm reminds us that God does indeed see the oppressed. It tells us that God will never, ever forsake those who seek God. I believe in a God who delivers, a God whose ultimate desire is to restore creation into right relationship with Godself. So I have hope. In the face of this broken world, I have hope because our God is a God who saves. God has not abandoned us; God is with us and calls us to love the world, even in its brokenness. We can join in this salvific work by standing with those who are oppressed, downtrodden, who are pushed to the margins of society. We can live into our calling by serving our neighbors in a myriad of ways, from simple things, like saying hi, to massive ways, like helping rebuild a town after a hurricane. God transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, and God so does the same with us. Our God will not forsake us, but rather be with us as we join in the mission to show God’s love to the whole world. That is the promise for which we have hope.

Read More: Psalm 9:9-20, 2 Cor. 6:1-13

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