…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Choose Hope: Adult Study Guide, Herald House, p. 35, excerpted

With deep hope comes deep joy, a spirit-empowered movement swelling upward from the human soul. Envisioning God’s preferred future is a joyful reality of justice and peace! As we live into the horizon of God’s future already breaking in among us, we embrace a spirit of joy as an act of resistance against the currents of destruction and despair. It is a movement in us that can sustain and uplift from the work of prophetic hope even when the conditions around us do not cause us to rejoice. Let’s claim joy as a practice of resistance and hope for a prophetic people.

Joy is what was meant to be.
The mystery of impossibility happening.
The assurance of uncertainty.
Joy is my seeking.
Your being.
It is mine for the taking.
Ours to share.
More than enough to go around,
When it seems nowhere to be found.
Have yourself a heapin’ serving.
Have seconds or thirds.
’Cause
Joy is the justice
We must give ourselves.
—J. Drew Lanham, from Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves

Prayer Phrase

“Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

Deepening Roots

A tree with superficial roots will wither during drought, or severe storms may uproot it. A tree whose roots go deep is stable and draws from deep waters. Imagine yourself as a tree by a river or stream. Sense your roots extending deep into the earth in search of God’s Spirit. Reflect or pray about what you hope to find as your spirit searches for deeper identity in God.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.