Happy Friday, everyone! In one particular study of the elderly, those who said that they were feeling hopeless were more than twice as likely to die during the study follow-up period, than when compared with those who said they actually had hope. You see, hope is essential for our survival, and I pray that as you go into this weekend, you will feel your hope renewed as you hear these words from God Almighty.

Through the prophet Jeremiah 29:11, he tells us, “I know the plans I have for you, and in those plans for you, I have plans to give you hope.” God knows what you need, and he provides it in His Son Jesus. In fact, there’s no better place to look when we’re feeling hopeless than to look at His Son, Jesus.

Prayer
Lord God, we thank You very much for the way that You have so wonderfully and intricately created us, and You know us as your created beings. You know what we need, and You promise to meet those needs. One of those needs that we have is the need of hope. The need to know that while we may be going through a difficulty right now, there is still ahead, promise.

Promise of renewal, promise of healing, promise of goodness, and all of that can be found in Your Son Jesus. So may that hope really kind of float beneath us as it lifts our wings and as we continue to journey into this weekend. And would you give us words and actions that would really kind of share that hope in a powerful way with those around us?

So that again, Lord, we might encounter life. The life that you have for us. And it’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.