It is not easy to trust in a hidden hope behind all that we see around us. We observe that history repeats itself; novelties wear off; promises are not kept; conflicts are not yet resolved; idealisms are tempered by settling and compromise. Our need for security and control can make us shrewdly distrustful of others, and even of God.
Thank God for the yearning and longing that Paul describes in Romans! We have been given a hope that is illuminated not by our worldly successes (“a hope that sees for itself”) but by God’s dream for the world (“hope for what we do not see”). No matter how discouraged or disappointed we feel toward the events of our lives, this holy hope cannot be permanently broken by the world, because it does not come from us.
What hopes and yearnings can I share with God today? Can I let these hopes play out on God’s terms?
—Michael Lammana, S.J. is a Jesuit scholastic of the USA Northeast Jesuit province. He is currently studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.