“I Hope He Does”

“I Hope He Does”

These were the words of a man walking his dog who I briefly spoke to whilst on a morning run recently.

With a humbleness he then told me that the last few years in his life had been very challenging.

I didn’t ask him to share any more, but I wonder…

Had he been struggling with that dark, destructive voice in his head?

Had he been having suicidal thoughts?

Had he been having serious health issues?

Had his wife been having health issues?

Had his marriage collapsed?

Had he lost a loved one, or even loved ones?

Had he lost his job and suffered financial issues?

Had he seen his son or daughter go off in a direction which brought some pain or suffering?

Had he been feeling like he can’t carry on?

Had he been feeling lonely, even with people around him?

Had he been questioning his purpose on Earth?

I then started to consider:

How many other people across the Earth, probably who have been incredibly efficient at wearing a mask to their family, friends and colleagues, are feeling like this man was, looking for some hope in their life?

So, who is “He” that the man was referring to?

What was this man hoping for?

This man responded with “I Hope He Does” when I told him whilst running past:

“Bless you. Jesus loves you”

I stopped, passed him a card, and as I was about to start running again I looked at the man and said:

“He does. He died for you 2000 years ago”

“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here is the link on my card - bit.ly/m/paulrouke