Hope in Hard Times

Hard seasons expose the limits of our own resources. Strength runs low, circumstances refuse to cooperate and even people who care about us cannot always alter what we are facing.

Hope in Hard Times gathers Our Daily Bread readings for that territory. The reflections return repeatedly to the presence and character of God: the One who hears when we feel alone, remains trustworthy when the future is obscure, gives strength when ours is spent and holds out a future beyond the pain of the present.

The booklet moves through Scripture rather than offering quick fixes. Habakkuk’s decision to rejoice when everything around him had failed, Hagar’s cry in the wilderness, Micah waiting for God in a bleak season, Psalm 23 and Revelation’s vision of a world finally made new all give different language to the same act of faith: placing our weight on God when life has become difficult to carry.

There are prayers, short studies and passages to return to when concentration is limited. Some readings look towards the eventual restoration God has promised; others attend closely to His presence today.

A shared invitation 

At Our Daily Bread Ministries, we want to stay alongside people through the seasons in which faith is being tested. Our resources are free because we want that companionship to remain available whenever it is needed. If you would like to help make that possible for someone else, your donation supports the continued creation and distribution of Bible-based resources.