In an era of political polarization, eroding democratic norms, and rising authoritarianism, many Christians find themselves disoriented, wondering how their faith should inform myriad daily decisions. Drawing upon both scholarship and pastoral wisdom, theologian Hanna Reichel offers a timely resource for believers seeking spiritual grounding amid societal upheaval.
A guide for ordinary Christians seeking to live faithfully in extraordinary times
In an era of political polarization, eroding democratic norms, and rising authoritarianism, many Christians find themselves disoriented, wondering how their faith should inform myriad daily decisions. Drawing upon both scholarship and pastoral wisdom, theologian Hanna Reichel offers a timely resource for believers seeking spiritual grounding amid societal upheaval.
“This is the book I have been waiting for. . . . Sparingly written yet conveying remarkable historical and theological depth, this is a book every Christian should read and reread, now and in the days ahead.”
—Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne
“To live in perilous times, we all need perspective and inspiration, and Hanna Reichel offers both. . . . If we all read one entry a day and take its message to heart, together we’ll become the change we long to see in our world.”
—Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC, author of How We Learn to Be Brave
“Each entry is immediately relevant to our current context yet also echoes with ancient wisdom.” —Jemar Tisby, author of The Color of Compromise
Read below for an excerpt from For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional, which is available for preorder!
Chapter 6, “Faith, Hope, and Love Remain,” or: Find Purpose
There will be days when you feel that all hope is lost. But hope is not an object that can be misplaced or taken away. Hope is not an emotion that you may or may not feel. Hope is not a positive outlook that may be hard to come by.
Hope is a practice, a discipline, a horizon.
Viktor Frankl observed that even in an environment as terrifying as the concentration camps, people’s joy or misery was not directly determined by the surroundings. As people responded differently to their predicament, Frankl observed time and again that those who gave up hope would die very quickly, while those who found ways to cultivate purpose and meaning tended to live on.1
Frankl observed three key factors that influenced survival rates: First, projects that let people create things and achieve goals allow for finding purpose through work, accomplishments, and the sense of participating in something greater than themselves.
Second, experience and encounter with other people generate meaning through relationships, love, and shared appreciation of beauty.
Finally, not the degree of suffering but the attitude people adopt toward it leads them to despair or to endure even the greatest hardships.
Oddly, happiness does not always make people happy. Nor does suffering necessarily make people miserable. In fact, wanting to be happy may make people miserable, and finding meaning in suffering can be truly fulfilling.
The Bible does not talk about happiness, but it does talk about joy.
The Bible doesn’t offer recipes for avoiding pain and suffering. It lifts up faith, hope, and love.
Which relationships give your actions meaning?
What would you keep doing even if there was no hope for success or improvement?
What commitments are worth embodying even when no one else embodies them?
Your answers to these questions will change how you experience what you experience, what you can or cannot endure. While you cannot choose your situation, you can shape your response. While you may not control the fate of the nation, the community, or even your own feelings, you can lean into faith, hope, and love to find purpose, foster relationships, and generate meaning.
Find your purpose. You don’t have to end world hunger or achieve global peace; a purpose only has to be slightly bigger than yourself.
Purpose sends you back to that sense of awe in front of something greater than yourself. It gives you focus. Purpose grounds, inspires, and energizes. It lets you appreciate your own effort and the effort of others. Purpose connects you with those around you: It will lead you to other people, movements and institutions, histories and futures that you can participate in.
“Faith, hope, and love remain,” writes Paul, “and the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). Not all is lost when hope is lost. And even hope regenerates when we allow faith and love to sow purpose and meaning
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