Day 25 **Bonus Post** - Hope is a state of mind

A reflection on Hope by Grace Kariuki – Ngari, Christian Aid.

Hope is often defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen (Google, 2025). As I reflect on what hope means for a believer in Christ, I find that it is not only an expectation, but an expectation built on something sure—our anchor, Christ Jesus. That reality radically changes what hope looks and feels like for me.

In a world that can seem so broken and troubled, it is our faith that calls us to hope—hope grounded in the assurance that the God of the Bible still cares for us and for His creation. Hope is not an escape from reality, but a faithful invitation to be challenged: to act, to pray, and to give toward a reality that aligns with the Kingdom of God.

As stated in the Christian Aid paper on the theology of hope, “Hope is a state of mind, of intention, of determination based on what God has revealed to us of himself in Jesus Christ and the scriptures that attest to him.”

Hope becomes most necessary in the darkest moments, because it urges us to search and long for light—to believe it can be found not because of who we are, but because of who God says He is.

I encourage you to continue holding on to hope, and I invite you to pray this prayer.

Prayer of hope

God of resurrection

We turn from the cross of death towards the tree of life

And dare to imagine another possible world

Where violent conflict becomes peaceful reconciliation

Where hunger and thirst are filled and quenched

Where barriers of exclusion become bridges of opportunity

Where pain and tears are healed and tenderly wiped away

Where world weary hearts are strengthened and reenergised

Where the leaves of the tree heal all the nations

In a time of inequality and division we are united by hope,

anticipating the flourishing of creation and fullness of life for everyone

To the glory and praise of your Almighty name.

Amen

Grace Kariuki – Ngari, Christian Aid