The Color of Hope
When my daughter died I clung to hope. I clung to the promise that "all things work together for good to those who love God",* and this promise was not only for me but also for her. Some how her months of suffering were serving a purpose greater than I could see at the moment.
This morning when I was reading my Bible I learned that the color of hope is green. I found that rather exciting because green has always been my favorite color. All shades of green. Especially the green of spring after so many months of seeing shades of brown and gray here in the North East United States.
To me, green has always meant life and the promise of life. Energy, exuberant energy, and soothing landscapes. Eugene Peterson, who translated the Bible into modern English, translates the Apostle Paul's benediction in Romans15 like this:
"Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy,
fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the
life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!"
The Holy Spirit is like the sap in a tree, keeping it green and providing it with all the nourishment it needs. God is the God of green hope that fills us with joy.
How I long for you, for us, all to be filled with the God of Green hope during these tumultuous times. A God who has not left us comfortless but who has given us his spirit.
* 26-28Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:28 The Message (MSG)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A28&version=MSG
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