Psalm 33

These words from Psalm 33 are the promises and prayers which still provide a firm foundation for our own lives, the life of the Church, and indeed the future of God’s good creation:

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our strength and shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

To wait in hope isn’t the same as giving in. Another great hymn has the lines,
Save us from weak resignation, to the evils we deplore...
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, serving Thee whom we adore.

We wait in hope before God because we have learned that God is our strength and shield, and we trust in his holy name. Hope is the opposite of shoulder-shrugging, I can’t help it resignation. Hope is when faith is at its most defiant. Hope is when we stand beneath the cross with broken-hearted disciples, and head with the women for the tomb with its immovable rock, and find that the immovable stone has been moved, and the crucified is glorified. And our hearts rejoice in hope.

We wait in hope because God isn’t finished with the church, and the church isn’t finished. How firm a foundation! What more can he say than to you he has said? Our church in Pasadena (like every other Christian congregation) is built on the firm foundation of God’s promises:
“You are fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” Ephesians 2.19-20.

So as Psalm 33 says, “We wait in hope…” Not wild unrealistic hope, but the settled confidence that God can be trusted. Not passive let’s do nothing hope, but hopeful living, hope-filled praying, acts of hopefulness and hope-building. Not fingers crossed and hope for the best hope, but an inner assurance that God keeps his word, and we can trust his holy name.

We are in a time of flux, unpredictability, and multiple crises. Anxiety and uncertainty can easily slide into despair. But our faith has a firm foundation, and so does our hope. What more can he say than to you he has said… “He who did not spare his own Son, but freely gave him up for us all, will he not, with him, freely give us all things.”

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation