Devotion 13 — Sh’ma and Hope |
Listening for the Future
“I know the plans I have for you… plans for peace and not for harm.”— Jeremiah 29:11
Hope is often misunderstood.We treat it as optimism, as if it were simply a positive outlook on life. But in Scripture, hope is something far more demanding. It is not wishful thinking—it is the result of disciplined listening in uncertain times.
The words of Jeremiah were not spoken in a moment of comfort. They were spoken to a people in exile—displaced, disoriented, and unsure of their future. There was no immediate rescue. No quick return home. The promise came in the middle of disruption, not at the end of it.
Because it means that hope does not begin when circumstances improve. Hope begins when we learn to listen—especially when the future feels unclear.
Sh’ma calls us into that kind of listening.
It is easy to listen when life is stable, when direction is obvious, when outcomes feel secure. But the deeper form of listening—the kind that sustains hope—emerges when clarity is........