Daily Office Reflection

Sunday, August 9, 2026

Readings: Psalm 66; 2 Samuel 13:1–22; Romans 15:1–13; John 3:22–36

The God of Hope Is Waiting

Sometimes a lesson about grace comes from an unexpected place.

Today I watched an old episode of Murder, She Wrote. Jessica Fletcher was investigating the murder of an Amish elder. Her literary agent, who had grown up in the Amish community, became a suspect. Years earlier he had been shunned by the murdered elder and had left the community.

At the conclusion, Jessica asked the Amish bishop why he had not lifted the man’s shunning.

The bishop replied that he would—but the man had never asked.

Then he encouraged Jessica to think about why.

She realized that perhaps the man first needed to come to terms with his past and receive the forgiveness available to him.

That story stayed with me as I read today’s Daily Office.

Psalm 66 declares:

“Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, nor withheld his love from me.”

What beautiful words.

God has not withheld His love from us.

Sometimes we live as though we have been shunned by God when God is actually waiting for us to turn toward Him.

We carry guilt.

We remember things we wish we had never done.

We convince ourselves that we have wandered too far from home.

Yet God has not stopped loving us.

The difficult story of Amnon and Tamar in 2 Samuel shows us why repentance and transformation matter.

Amnon becomes consumed by his desire for Tamar. She repeatedly tells him no. She reasons with him. She pleads with him.

He refuses to listen.

He violates her.

Then, having harmed her terribly, his desire turns into hatred and he casts her away.

Tamar bears absolutely no responsibility for what Amnon did to her. She is the victim of his violence.

But the story demonstrates what can happen when human beings stop listening—to God, to wisdom, and to one another.

Sin does not remain isolated within us.

Our choices can wound other people.

They can wound families.

They can wound communities.

And they can wound ourselves.

Paul offers another way.

In Romans 15, he tells us that Scripture was written for our instruction so that through steadfastness and encouragement we might have hope.

Instead of using others to satisfy ourselves, Paul tells us:

“Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.”

What a contrast.

Amnon uses another person.

Paul tells us to build another person up.

One destroys.

The other gives life.

Then Paul gives us one of Scripture’s great blessings:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The God of hope.

Perhaps that is the name of God I need to remember today.

John the Baptist points toward the source of that hope.

His followers are concerned because people are beginning to follow Jesus instead of him.

John refuses to compete.

He knows who he is, and he knows who Jesus is.

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

And then John declares:

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.”

There is our hope.

Not perfection.

Not pretending we have never failed.

Not hiding our past.

Not punishing ourselves forever.

Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we may think God has shunned us.

But perhaps God is nearer than we imagine.

The door of grace has not been locked.

Psalm 66 assures us that God has not withheld His steadfast love.

Christ offers life.

The Spirit offers hope.

And God invites us to turn toward Him.

Repentance does not mean pretending that our choices have caused no harm. David’s family is showing us exactly how devastating the consequences of sin can become.

Nor does forgiveness erase our responsibility to make amends where possible or protect those who have been harmed.

Grace does something different.

Grace gives us a way forward.

It allows us to tell the truth about what we have done without believing that what we have done is the final word about who we are.

Perhaps some of us have been standing outside the door believing God will never welcome us again.

The God of hope is still there.

His love has not been withheld.

Christ still offers life.

The Holy Spirit still gives hope.

And perhaps God is simply waiting for us to turn toward Him and receive what grace has been offering all along.

Thanks be to God.

Prayer

God of hope, thank You for not withholding Your love from me. When I have sinned, give me courage to confess it. When I have harmed another, give me humility to acknowledge the harm and seek to make it right. When I have been harmed, remind me that another person’s sin does not determine my worth. Deliver me from the temptation to use others for my own purposes, and teach me instead to build up my neighbor. When guilt tells me that I am beyond Your grace, help me turn toward Jesus Christ, in whom there is life. Fill me with joy and peace in believing, that by the power of Your Holy Spirit I may abound in hope. Amen.