“The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.” (Proverbs 10:28 ESV)
“When Digory took a minute to get his breath, and then went softly into his Mother’s room. And there she lay, as he had seen her lie so many other times, propped up on the pillows, with a thin, pale face that would make you cry to look at it. Digory took the Apple of Life out of his pocket.
“And just as the Witch Jadis had looked different when you saw her in our world instead of in her own, so the fruit of that mountain garden looked different too. There were of course all sorts of colored things in the bedroom; the colored counterpane on the bed, the wallpaper. . . But the moment Digory took the Apple out of his pocket, all those things seemed to have scarcely any color at all. Every one of them, even the sun- light, looked faded and dingy. . . Nothing else was worth looking at: you couldn’t look at anything else. And the smell of the Apple of Youth was as if there was a window in the room that opened on Heaven.
““Oh, darling, how lovely,” said Digory’s Mother. “You will eat it, won’t you? Please,” said Digory. “I don’t know what the Doctor would say,” she answered. “But really—I almost feel as if I could.” He peeled it and cut it up and gave it to her piece by piece. And no sooner had she finished it than she smiled and her head sank back on the pillow and she was asleep: a real, natural, gentle sleep, without any of those nasty drugs, which was, as Digory knew, the thing in the whole world that she wanted most. . . He bent down and kissed her very softly and stole out of the room with a beating heart, taking the core of the apple with him. For the rest of that day, whenever he looked at the things about him, and saw how ordinary and unmagical they were, he hardly dared to hope; but when he remembered the face of Aslan he did hope.”
God,
All praise belongs to you, Creator of all good things, Savior, and Faithful One. Lord, we put our hope in you. Hear our prayers; listen to our cries and tears. In the heavy, dark, challenging hard places of life, help us to see the ordinary, unmagical, and beautiful things. Help us to remember that when we turn to Jesus, we have hope. Fill us with all joy and peace in our believing that we may overflow with your HOPE by the power of Holy Spirit. AMEN.
And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Each of us is but a breath. Hear my prayer, O LORD! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest—a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me. Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more. (Psalm 39:7, 12-13 NLT)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13 ESV)
“What mighty praise, O God, belongs to you in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to you, for you answer our prayers. All of us must come to you. Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all. What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts. What festivities await us inside your holy Temple. You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth.” (Psalm 65:1-5 NLT)
From The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis