For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Romans 8:24-25

The thing that all of our souls are aching for as we press deeper into this Covid-19 crisis has a name. It’s called hope. It’s the thing that enables us to believe this won’t last forever, that life will return to normal, that we are going to be okay, and that God really is going to provide. Hope is the thing that gives our souls the courage to believe in the possibility of a better tomorrow.

The tricky thing about hope is that it is lives in the world of things that we can’t quite see, at least not yet. Paul is trying to get us comfortable with that reality here in Romans 8. Hope isn’t about our ability to find answers to all of our questions. It’s about our approach to the inevitable unknowns of life.

And right now, we are all confronted with so many unknowns. We know life will get back to normal but we don’t know when. We trust that God will provide but we don’t know how. We want to believe it’s all going to be okay but what if that turns out to be a little too simplistic? It’s the unknowns that make all of this so difficult. It’s the uncertainty that drains us. But we need to remember that uncertainty is not the enemy of hope. It’s the prerequisite.

Uncertainty is not the enemy of hope. It’s the prerequisite.

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It’s one thing to scour the internet in search of good information that will enable us to make responsible decisions. But we’re never going to find the hope we’re looking for through the news, social media, or best the data models available. Hope, at least the real, gritty kind that will carry us through a pandemic, comes from a totally different source.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 62:5-8

We find hope in the certainty that the same God who holds tomorrow in His hands is also holding us in His arms. Information can and should help us navigate life but only faith can fill us with hope. And, make no mistake about it, the Christian story is always one of hope. It’s the story of a God who loves the world so much that He sent His Son to die in our place so that we can live forever. It’s a story of suffering endured, death defeated, and eternity purchased. It’s a story that boldly announces that even when death comes, we still win. In Christ, there is always the hope of a better tomorrow.

For now, we wait. I’ll admit, my waiting isn’t always characterized by the kind of patience Paul is talking about in this passage. But, the more I lean into real hope, the more I sense little glimmers of patience working their way into my soul. We really are going to get through this and we really can trust God to lead us every step of the way.

My prayer for all of us is that we would learn to lean into the things that connect us with the God of hope and to pull back from the things that fuel a culture of anxiety and fear.