Recently, Jim shared a message on the topic of ‘hope’ and said that, as Christians, we not only have the earthly hope that is often crushed, but we also have supernatural hope. This most important hope comes from knowing that no matter how bad things appear, Jesus is always with us. and that God works all things for good for those who love him. Across the world, at the moment, we are all experiencing some form of lockdown due to the Coronavirus. In the UK, where I live, there is still a full lockdown which involves social distancing of 2 metres from all but the people with whom you live, and we are advised to only leave our homes for essential shopping and one form of exercise per day. This can and is causing, great distress for many. However, there is always the hope that no matter what we struggle with, God will always use it for good. This truth of this really hit home recently because just before we went into full lockdown, I severely cut back an evergreen tree in my garden, and this week I noticed, for the first time since cutting it back, that there are new little buds developing on the branches. It instantly reminded of the writings of the prophet Isaiah who said that a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse and that from that shoot we will be given life and have it abundantly. It was from that shoot that the tree of hope grew in the form of Jesus, a tree to bring new and abundant life for all who believe.

How does your faith help you remain hopeful when things are rough? In what ways do you encounter God which serve to make you realise that even in dismay and chaos, He is still in control?