Optimism Fueled by Faith, Hope, and Love

Doughnuts have both dough and holes and when they are first cut from the raw dough, they don’t look good or taste good.  They need to still be fried in hot oil or baked in a hot oven to bring out the flavours. 

Heat is often something we associate with trouble and difficulty and something that is challenging for us to get through but, as with the doughnuts that need the heat, so we need some challenges to show the wonderful sweetness of our character that God is building in us.

In the most famous “Love Chapter” of the Bible, we find these three qualities – faith, hope, and love blended together to produce the kind of person God is perfecting.    Each of these characteristics only grows and shines when we have to persevere through lots of challenging circumstances.  It’s God’s plan that when we come out of those challenges that we will provide sweetness to those we encounter. 

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:7, 13

As we pass through life’s challenges, we can have optimism because God is good, and He is good to us. 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 

Psalm 118:1

God assures us of His help, particularly during times that are hard.  On that basis we can be optimistic that we will successfully meet and come through each difficulty.  God is always at work on our behalf and will bless us as we journey through each situation successfully.

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 

James 1:12

Loving God, May faith, hope, and love, be the foundation on which we build our lives each day. We want all that we are and all that we hope to be to spring up from this optimism that is grounded in the truth that You are with us and You are for us. Whatever our circumstances, we want to keep our gaze steadily fixed on You with that faith, hope, and love You promise to build in us.  We may struggle but You are the faithful one and so we are relying on You to strength us as we build our lives on Your truth.  Amen 

I love the good old fashioned honey glazed doughnuts.  I want my life to be soft and sweet like that doughnut when it is offered to others around me today. How about you?  Are you ready, with God’s help, to stand up, even to a little heat today, in order to be someone filled with faith, hope, and love?