steadfast

"Remaining steadfast may mean ... persevering until what we had hoped to achieve begins to come into view." (Ringma, Reflection 91)
It's an interesting thought that we should not necessarily wait for the fulfilment of what we hope for.  It is enough to begin to see it.  The fulfilment is always in the hands of God.  If we plan to stay until everything is complete, we risk taking full responsibility for it ourselves instead of leaving it to God's care.  God charges us with the task of planting seeds - that's all!  The rest of the work - growing the seed to harvest - is God's work, not mine or yours.  Sometimes God will grant the privilege for us to see the fulfilment, but I must not assume it or expect it.
This is the joy in 1 Corinthinan 15:35-58.  We can "be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because we know that [whatever work we do] in the Lord our labour is not in vain."

Hope

Two ideas come together - a comment by Henri Nouwen in Charles Ringma's devotional Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen about human need to know the heart of God 'that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and wants to heal' (Reflection 90), and Timothy Keller's comments about sin in his book The Reason for God that 'the Christian doctrine of sin is a source of human hope' (p161). 

Hope comes when we see possibilities of acceptance and affirmation despite the (sometimes very obvious) flaws in our lives and our living.  As Keller points out, the reality of our mistakes, failures and offenses leads us to a dismal view of our own existence and of the world's circumstances.  But when we experience the love of God, who loves us before we every deserve it or understand it, we can begin to realise that the fullness of life is not dependent on how well or poorly we perform, but on our acceptance of the truth that we are loved by God unconditionally.

And of course our lives change, and the world is changed as we try to be more the way God would have us be.

When God gives a gift for service ...

It is a matter of deepest sadness that the need to have the church's work done well can preclude a person from using the gifts that God has given.

Divine guidance

When I saw that God said, "I will lead the blind by a road they do not know" (Isaiah 42:16) I thought itsounded a bit harsh.  Surely it would be kinder to lead those of us who are having trouble seeing the way ahead by a path that we have travelled before. 
But then - if we only went where we've been, how would we ever see the wonderful new things that God knows about?
And now I am excited to know that when we allow ourselves to be led by God, it is always with the promise that "I will guide them, I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them."