By Ardis Stenbakken–Here in Loveland, a young man, Max Moree, working on his Eagle Scout project, refurbished a huge star that had deteriorated on a hillside and was no longer lit. It is generally lighted only at Christmas, but has been lighted before during crises–the Iran hostage crisis and September 11, 2001. Now it is lighted again as a beacon of hope for the Loveland residents during the pandemic. To give hope. But is that really where hope comes from?

Hope. We have hope: hope that this COVID-19 will soon be over. Hope that we can meet again in worship. Hope that the kids will be able to go back to school, hope that there will once again be childcare, and hope that our school seniors will be able to have a graduation ceremony.

But that is not really the hope I am talking about. I am talking about having hope even if these things don’t happen for a very long time, or even at all.

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (Psalms 31:24). That is where the real hope lies. Hope for those struggling with kids stuck in the house, for those who worry about family members in the health profession, for those who are sick. Hope as you feed your family and pay the mortgage. “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God (Psalm 42:11).

Ardis Stenbakken writes from Loveland, Colorado, where she is a member of Campion Seventh-day Adventist Church. She is a former Women’s Ministry director of the General Conference; photo by Rajmund Dabrowski