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The One Year Book of Hope Devotional
Copyright 2005 by Nancy Guthrie. All rights reserved.
Cover photograph of bird copyright Eileen Rosen/Getty Images. All rights reserved.
Cover and interior photograph of eggs copyright D. Sharon Pruitt Pink Sherbet Photography/Getty Images. All rights reserved.
Cover and interior photograph of nest copyright Alexey Stiop/Veer. All rights reserved.
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Designed by Jessie McGrath
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version,NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.
Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.
Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture verses marked Phillips are taken from The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips, copyright J. B. Phillips, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1972. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Guthrie, Nancy.
The one year book of hope / Nancy Guthrie
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4143-0133-4 (sc)
1. Hope Prayer-books and devotions English. 2. Hope Religious aspects Christianity. 3. Devotional calendars. I. Title.
BV4638.G88 2005
242.4 dc222005008045
ISBN 978-1-4143-3671-8 (LeatherLike)
Build: 2014-12-04 14:32:59
Comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it.
If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end:
if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth
only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair.
C. S. LEWIS, MERE CHRISTIANITY
DEDICATION
With profound gratitude, I dedicate this book to three of the people who have faithfully taught me the Scriptures. You planted the seeds that have blossomed into this book.
Dr. James Walters, my Bible professor at John Brown University, my guide and companion in the fellowship of tears
You sent me on a search for the glory of God, a journey Im still on, a destination Im still longing for. You opened my eyes to the adventure of searching the Scriptures, the gain from wrestling with its implications, the joys and sorrows of an authentic life.
Sue Johnson, my Bible Study Fellowship teaching leader, mentor, friend, hero
From the first day when you asked if anyone needed a miracle, your invitations and questions were always just for me and I could never get enough. The principles you gave are on every page of this book. My desire to be just like you when I grow up never fades.
Dr. Ray Ortlund Jr., my pastor
You have fed my hungry soul with the truth of Gods Word and altered my perspective from duty to delight. What a gift. I wish you had known Hope and Gabe. Someday you will.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With gratitude to my Saturday morning One Year Book of Hope support group, who met with me every month for a year, helping me to shape the concept, reading and giving input as I wrote, talking it through with me, encouraging me when I wanted to give up, praying for me, and believing with me for the manna. Oh, how you helped me! Bonita Benefield, Sue Johnson, Wendy Martin, Jani Ortlund, Melinda Perry, Terri Petway, Angela Robbins, Susan Shafer, and Julie White, you have honored me with your time and friendship and interest in this project, and I am forever grateful. Will you keep on coming over? Ill see you on the patio and well laugh together and listen to the birds. I love you.
Im grateful to Dr. Jim Walters for being willing to grade one more paper for me and for offering keen insights, important corrections, and valued encouragement.
Friends who know Ive worked in publishing for many years assume that I understand grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and all those pesky details required for communicating well, and that I should therefore be of great help to Matt with his homework. My editors at Tyndale Stephanie Voiland and Lisa Jackson know better. Thanks for all the valuable input, careful editing, and gentle nudges to do better. And thank you to Jan Long Harris and Doug Knox for coming up with the idea for this book over lunch and asking me to do it. I am privileged to have you and the rest of the Tyndale team in my corner.
My special thanks to David and Matt for putting up with a whole year of constant conversation (and occasional whining) about the book. Your belief that I could do it, your confidence that God will use it, and your willingness to lose me to it have kept me going. The joy of living this life with you will only be surpassed when were all together as a family of five one day. Every once in a while I can almost feel it.
INTRODUCTION
My friend, I dont know what may be causing you pain it might be a broken relationship, a difficult diagnosis, a devastating disappointment, a death. It may stem from a sudden loss that changed everything about your life in an instant, or an ongoing situation that is wearing on you like a steady drip. It may be something that happened long ago but is still leaving its achy fingerprints on your heart, or a steady series of lesser hurts that just dont seem to heal. I want you to know that I would never presume to say that I know how you feel. I dont. Nobody can. But I do know what it is like to hurt. And I know where to find comfort when there are no words for the pain. I know because Ive been on that search too, looking for answers to my questions, hope for the future, and companionship for the journey. I cant say that Ive found all the answers. But I can say that Ive found some, and Ive chosen to embrace the Source for the answers to all the questions that taunt us in the midst of tears and keep us awake in the night.