May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NIV
God Of Hope
As Hope Swinimer scoops a pine marten pierced with porcupine quills from a cardboard box, she gasps and appears to choke back tears. It’s only the third time she’s ever seen the endangered weasel-like mammal at Hope for Wildlife, her charitable facility in Seaforth, N.S., despite having worked in wildlife rehabilitation for more than 25 years. “My whole life, I’ve had a passion for these critters,” said Swinimer, noting there are only about 100 female American martens left in the province after being trapped to near extinction in the 1940s and 50s.
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How appropriate that a woman named Hope is offering hope to an endangered species. Human beings are far from being an endangered species, but we exist on hope. It is only hope that carries us through some of the most challenging days. Hope that things will be better, hope that tomorrow will be better than today. The good news is that our God is the God of hope. Paul the apostle would write about this in Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” God wants to do a great work in our lives. In a world that offers so little when it comes to hope, through faith in Jesus, God wills our lives not only with hope, but with the joy that comes in knowing that He has everything in His hands. The overflow of this joy is … hope. Trust in the God of hope and experience the joy He alone can give.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley