Our Hope is in the Lord

How do we find hope? How do we keep hope? In Psalm 14, hope happens somewhere in the space between the comma and the “but”: “You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge” (Psalm 14:6). But God. But the good news. But grace. We find and keep hope when we name all that is hard in our world, take a breath, and then remember, but God.

So, what kind of “but God” moments can we bring into worship this week? Psalm 14 certainly opens us to the need for confession, a prayerful and corporate way to tell the truth about the world around—and the world inside—us to God and one another. Consider using a song to frame or guide corporate confession, such as “Confession” (Worship and Song, 3138). Pair the confession and assurance of pardon with the passing of the peace as a reminder that our presence with one another in the struggles of this world is an act of grace and good news. God is with us when we gather together. This is also an excellent Sunday to have a member of the congregation share their own “but God” moments in the form of a testimony. When we share the stories of what God has done in our lives, we encourage one another to live in hope instead of despair, to recall and remember the times that we have found our refuge and hope in God.

We encourage you to think of ways to invite the congregation to respond to the proclamation with their own “but God” statements. Perhaps during the sermon, ask congregants to write down their version of the psalmist’s “but God” and have them place their notes in the offering plate. Then, have the preacher read some of the statements aloud as part of the benediction or share a few of the statements (anonymously) in that week’s church newsletter. This is also an excellent exercise to invite congregants to do during the week through a social media post. Alternatively, you might include a bulletin insert with “But God…” at the top, followed by lines for people to fill in the blanks. Encourage them to keep those bulletin inserts in their Bibles, on their refrigerators, or anywhere they might see them during the week as a reminder that God is our refuge and hope.