The guests at my niece Kelly Avicola’s baby shower were asked to bring a book for her baby boy – a favorite book from childhood or one that had special meaning. My favorite was A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, and Barnes & Noble actually had a copy of it, but I thought it was a bit heavy for a baby. Another childhood favorite was The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (a pseudonym for Arnold Munk, a Chicago
The Little Engine That Could was originally penned in 1906, making it more than a century old but still enthralling children, teaching them the value of optimism (I think I can, I think I can) and hard work (life can be an uphill battle at times).
You probably know where I’m going with this. The Bible is filled with Scripture about hope and hard work. Depending on the version you’re reading, there are nearly 200 verses that include the word hope. Two of my favorite are Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” and I Peter 3:15 “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
For verses on hard work, there’s nothing like the book of Proverbs! From reference to the industrious ant who gathers food in the summer to store for the winter, to admonitions about lazy hands and sluggishness, to the rewards of the work of one’s hands, there is no lack of encouragement to strive like the Little Engine.
If you’ve read my profile, you also know that my guiding verse is one that gives God the glory for anything I am able to accomplish – including writing my blogs! Philippians 4:13 is a verse of both hope and hard work. I get my optimism and place my hope in the One who gives me the strength (physically, mentally, spiritually) to do all the things that He has planned for me. Jesus did the hard work. I believe it. I trust it.
I don’t “think I can” – I know He did!
You have a gift for writing devotions. Great post!
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