Reflections for Youth - Hope

Here we are - getting ready to start another school year. But this time still in the beginning of a pandemic. I am guessing that we are all feeling a little more hopeless than hopeful. They are so many things we long to do again like go to school in person and see our friends IN PERSON. 

The book of Isaiah in the Old Testament tells about people that felt hopeless just like we do. 

Read Isaiah 51: 1-6

These are the words of the prophet Isaiah to the Israelites when they were still in exile in Babylon. This was before King Cyrus said that they could go back to Jerusalem.  Some of them felt settled into life in Babylon, but many longed to return to Jerusalem.  Some of them said, “If we could just return and repair the temple.” They felt hopeless and sad and thought God had forgotten them.

They had been in Babylon for so long that some of them couldn’t even remember what life in Jerusalem was like. Some of them were so young that they never even lived there. Some days they gave up hope and said “Maybe we should just get used to living here. We’ll never see Jerusalem again.”

But God had a message of hope for the people. There was a prophet named Isaiah who gave the people a message of hope from God.

God told them:

“If you are looking for God, listen to me. Look at the God who created you. Look at Abraham and Sarah, who began this people.  Remember how alone they were when I called them.

I blessed them and their family grew to be many.  I, God, will comfort you and make you feel better.

(And this is my favorite part)… You will bloom like a garden does after the rain. You will shout and sing with joy and thanksgiving. Pay attention to me and listen to me. My teachings and fairness will be a light to all nations. My help is on the way. My help will last forever and will not be destroyed.”

When the people heard this message from God, they began to hope again.  They remembered that God keeps promises just as God kept promises to Abraham and Sarah. I hope that these words from God, as told through Isaiah will give you some hope, as well.

Here are some things to think about: 

• What do you think are some of the reasons that people feel hopeless?
• What are the things that you fear? Do you think that fear is the opposite of hope? In what ways can you have hope about the things you fear?
•   How can you show hope in the way that you live?
• Think about Jesus – in what ways did Jesus bring hope to people?
•  Do you think our world is more or less hopeless now than it was when Jesus lived on the earth?