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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13Eugene Peterson:
"The spiritual life is not a life before, after, or beyond our everyday existence. No, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys of the here and now. We can only be filled with hope when we are willing to be emptied of the pretense that we can manage life on our own."
Thomas Aquinas:
"Hope does not make its object present but rather makes us endure the absence of what we long for with patience and confidence. The theological virtue of hope strengthens the soul against despair by fixing it on the God who is faithful to His promises, not on the uncertain outcomes of human effort."
John Chrysostom -- Homilies on Romans:
"When God fills a man, nothing else is needed. He who has God has everything. Therefore let us not seek after the things of this world, but let us seek after God alone. For if we have Him, we lack nothing. The abundance of spiritual gifts surpasses all earthly treasure, for they who are rich in the Spirit are truly wealthy, and they who possess the hope of glory need no other inheritance."
Andrew Murray -- Abide in Christ:
"There is no place in which we can so effectually prove our faith as in the secret of God's presence, when there is nothing else to hold us there but the bare word of the promise. The discipline of waiting is the school in which the soul learns that God is faithful. It is not the effort of a moment but the habit of a life -- to cease from our own working and to trust Him who works all things."
If hope is a gift given by the Spirit and not a feeling you manufacture, what would change about the way you face today?
Cicero -- De Officiis (On Duties), Book I:
"There is no occupation so noble or so honorable that it does not lose its dignity when pursued for the sake of profit alone. But the man who directs all his thoughts toward the common good, and who holds fast to what is honorable even at the cost of personal advantage -- that man is truly great. For virtue is not something we possess in secret; it is proven only in action, and especially in action taken under difficulty."
St. Clair, MI -- Rain +58°F Humidity:94% Wind:←6mph