CHOCOLATE! Want some? What if we promised to send you a bar if you simply got in touch? Just by doing so you’d be expressing a kind of hope.

But hope in chocolate, though common, is not very substantial. What else do people hope for? Love? Winning the Cup Final?

Hope gets us up in the morning. It helps us to face the day, to face work or whatever the difficult challenge is that lies ahead. Hope is the light at the end of the tunnel. You’ll find it difficult to exist without it – in fact, just existing is about all you can do when you have no hope.

‘Knife crime’, ‘gang violence’, ‘drug culture’ – some people are already running out of hope. 59 young people died from violent incidents in 2007. But when we feel we have no options left, when everyday life hurts too much, what do we escape into?

God offers us hope. The world might try to crush you but God promises to refresh you.

Jesus began His work by offering freedom for the oppressed. It’s not an empty promise. Like faith and love, hope is ultimately a spiritual thing. When Jesus becomes a friend to you, He fills your life with new potential. He gives you that chance to start again.

But hope is a risky business because it means learning to trust again. Can God give you the strength you need to face a world full of trouble?

See also: Running out of... Time Oil Excuses

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