stop being anxious and watchful,
for I am your God.
I give you strength, I bring you help,
I uphold you with my victorious right hand.
The eye of Yahweh is on those who fear him,
on those who rely on his love,
to rescue their souls from death
and keep them alive in famine.
It is by faith and through Jesus that we have
entered this state of grace in which we
can boast about looking forward to God's glory.
But that is not all we can boast about;
we can boast about our sufferings.
These sufferings bring patience, as we know,
and patience brings perseverance,
and perseverance brings hope,
and this hope is not deceptive,
because the love of God has been
poured into our hearts by the
Holy Spirit which has been given us.
May the God of hope bring you such joy and peace
in your faith that the power of the Holy Spirit
will remove all bounds to hope.
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