Bob LaForge (New Jersey, USA)
If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. - Romans 6:5 (NIV)
Every year I have a vegetable garden. I start by planting tomato and pepper seeds in pots inside the house months before the ground warms up. That way, when I transfer them out to the garden, they are already quite large. This year, I put the pots in the garage instead of the house. After several weeks, there were no sprouts. I planted more seeds and still no sprouts appeared. I gave up hope; but then when the weather warmed up, I saw sprouts in my pots. The garage had been too cold for the seeds to germinate.
How often do our dreams seem to go nowhere? When it looks like hope has been crushed and everything is bleak, we are tempted to admit defeat. But we are not a people of hopelessness and despair; we are people of resurrection. On Easter morning, the stone was rolled away, and the risen Christ stepped out leaving the grave clothes behind. That is our hope and assurance. Our trials are not the final story. Rather, trials provide a chance for a new start. Because of Jesus we are not defeated; we are people of resurrection.
When I face problems, the power of God renews my hope.
People who feel hopeless
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