Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.

Scripture:         These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. …And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Hebrews 11:13, 39-40

Observation:    Hebrews tells us of men and women who held on to hope in the midst of horrendous situations.  Many of these people died never having received, but having seen.  The reason they did not receive is that God had provided something better.

            There is great power in hope.  Emily Dickenson once wrote: “Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul/And sings the tune--without the words/And never stops at all.”  It is from that perch in our hearts that hope sings the tune of redemption, the song of salvation.  The notes that remind us that this is not our home, that something better for us is out there with Christ.

Application:    This has been a difficult fall season for me, filled with tough conversations and circumstances.  I needed to be reminded today that things I have only seen with the eyes of hope, I will hold with the hands of faith.   Just around the corner of this year, I believe that I will begin to receive things I have only greeted from afar.  I must continue to sing the tune of hope and never stop at all.  God is good and he will do it.

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair. ("After the Storm" Mumford and Sons)

Prayer:             God, give me the song of hope today.  Hope that one day it will all be made right with you.  But also the hope that you are at work and that some of the seeds sown in the last few years will be ready for the harvest in 2012.   I trust you to get me over the hill with grace in my heart and flowers in my hair.