Roger Meyer

We live in trying and stressful times. Now, more than ever, we need to have hope. Today, hope is generally considered a feeling of wishing for or desiring something. Is that the kind of hope we need?

People say things like “I hope our team wins” or “I hope I get this job.” We desire these things to happen, considering our preferred outcome possible but not assured.

God has given many gifts to each of us. We’ve not only been given life, food, clothing, and shelter, but we have also been given individual talents, inborn or innate aptitudes, and abilities. Are we developing them and using them in the right way for good purposes?

These wide-ranging gifts may be mechanical and mathematical or musical and artistic. We may be good at organizing, analyzing, strategizing, communicating, teaching, networking, influencing, negotiating, designing, singing, entertaining, encouraging, or empathizing. Human beings are certainly very gifted!

When my wife and I get up to have our morning coffee, we often say, “Shall we turn on the news and see what ‘blew up’ last night?” We wonder: What disaster, murders, shootings, riots, robberies, accidents, fires, pandemic deaths, political bickering, legislative logjams, scandals, bankruptcies, lawsuits, debt increases, or other negative things happened since yesterday? There is usually something to sigh about.

Have you heard the saying, “Confession is good for the soul”? This exact statement is not in the Bible, but the principle of confessing our sins is. What and to whom do we confess, and why?

Violence is increasing rather alarmingly. It fills the news, with reports of murders, assaults, and other violent crimes in our cities. People are living increasingly in fear for themselves and their loved ones. Many, if not most, are taking extra safety precautions and buying alarm systems, pepper sprays, and weapons for personal protection. Why is this happening, and what can we do to protect ourselves and our families?