Daily
Devotional

While I make no claims to being a connoisseur of great art, from time to time a painting or photograph will speak a clear, strong message to me. One such image was an artist’s rendition of an old, burned-out mountain shack. All that remained was a chimney, a pile of rubble, and the charred debris of what apparently had been a family’s home. In front of the burned remains stood a grandfatherly looking man next to a small boy. It was evident that the child was crying, and the grandfather was administering comfort. Beneath the picture were the words which the artist felt the old man was speaking to the boy—simple words, yet they presented a profound theology and philosophy of life. Those words were, “Hush child, God ain’t dead!”  

The vivid picture of the burned-out mountain shack, the old man, the weeping child, and the words “God ain’t dead,” have returned to my mind often. But instead of the image being a reminder of the despair of life, it has come to be a reminder of hope! It tells me that no matter how overwhelming the circumstances may seem, there is always hope.  

Today, are you surrounded by situations in life that bring pain? God knows what you face right now, and He offers hope and a path toward joy despite those trials.

Placing our hope in God is a simple act of faith. We must choose to look to Him. As our focus verse indicates, God promises that hope in Him will be an anchor to the soul. It will help us rise above the hurt of the circumstances in our lives and focus our hearts beyond today’s pain. God Himself will realign our perspectives. Our lives do not need to be centered on the temporal things of the world around us; we can fix our hope upon eternity, and that prospect is sure to bring joy!

A prophet of Bible times wrote, “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:26). Those words are still true today! God will sustain us, and a blessed future is awaiting us. As we look to Him, we will find peace in the hope He offers!