A prayer when you need hope by Betsy DeCruz read by Lea Martin.

We rejoice in hope of the glory of God, Romans 5-2.

When my daughter left for college halfway across the country, the Christmas holidays

gave me something to look forward to.

Of all the parenting stages, I loved the teen and young adult years most.

So the hope that I'd see my daughter again at Christmas lightened the grief I felt over

her absence at home.

You may be walking through a challenge more difficult than sending a child to college.

In times of trial, having something to look forward to brings comfort.

As Christians, we have the privilege of praying for God to intervene, and we can anticipate

that He will respond.

However, when we don't yet see the answer to our prayers, sometimes we struggle to keep

hoping in God's goodness.

Whether we're dealing with illness, unemployment, or loss, we quickly lose faith when we focus

on the difficult side of our circumstances.

It was a key ingredient to living joyfully.

But how can we live as people of hope in a fallen world where trouble seems to abound?

In the opening verses of Romans 5, Paul reminds us that in Christ, God redeems our suffering

to produce perseverance, character, and hope.

The hope we have in Christ goes beyond optimism or the confidence of a good outcome in today's

trial.

In Christ, we can look forward to everlasting life as cherished children of God and a secure

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