60 Seconds of Hope with Horace McMillon

Send us Fan Mail When We Don’t Have What We Need Sometimes it’s hard to keep going when we don’t have what we need. Abraham and Isaac were making a long trip, carrying a lot of stuff when Isaac noticed what they were missing: “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” — from Genesis 22:7 Without the lamb, they couldn’t complete what they had set out to do. Nevertheless, they kept going, trusting that what they needed would be supplied. I’m Horace...

Send us Fan Mail When Doing The Right Thing Starts Going Wrong Sometimes we believe we are doing the right things, but things are turning out wrong. Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac because he believed that God wanted him to. Then an angel told him, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him.” — from Genesis 22:12 Abraham wasn’t stubborn. Even though he had originally heard from God, he was willing to listen to an angel. And tragedy was avoided. No matter how...

Send us Fan Mail When We’re On A Dead End Street When we’ve taken a wrong turn, and reached a dead end, we have to turn around to get to where we want to go. This is the insight found in Paul’s more famous quotes: “For the wages of sin is death.” — from Romans 6:23 For Paul, sin is whatever is not rooted in love. Our fear, anger, bitterness, and hate, our pride, greed, and lust are all dead-end streets that won’t get us to the lives we want individually or collectively. We have to...

Send us Fan Mail When We Are Tired From The Loads We Carry Sometimes we feel ourselves wearing down from the loads we’re carrying. But maybe we were never meant to carry some of those loads at all. And certainly not alone. The Gospel invites us to: “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” — from Matthew 11:28 It’s important to acknowledge that what we are carrying—mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually—is heavy. We d...

Send us Fan Mail When Our Fathers Are Not With Us Sometimes we find ourselves without our fathers. Because they couldn’t be there. Because they wouldn’t be there. Or because they are no longer here. The story of Abraham’s other son reminds us that our story does not end in absence. We are told: “God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.” — from Genesis 21:20 God was with him and his mother in the wilderness. He ...

Send us Fan Mail When We Are In Distress When we are in distress and feel like we’re sinking in the mire, we don’t have to pretend to be okay. Instead, like the psalmist, we can cry out: “Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.” — from Psalm 69:17 Like the psalmist, we can turn to God and to one another for help. And like the psalmist, we can trust that our cries are heard. I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be wit...

Send us Fan Mail When We Find Something Truly Worth Living For When we care about something so much and so deeply, that no amount of criticism will make us give up. The Psalmist knew that feeling. “It is zeal for your house that has consumed me.” — from Psalm 69:9 He didn’t care if others didn’t understand. He didn’t care if others mocked and criticized him. He was willing to pay the full cost and bear the consequences. Because he had found a purpose bigger than himself, a purpo...

Send us Fan Mail When We Think No One Cares Sometimes we feel alone. And we think no one cares. Hagar and her son were abandoned in the wilderness. There was no going back to where they came from. And they couldn’t see any place to go or any way to get there. Then Hagar heard these words: “Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.” — from Genesis 21:17 God not only heard them. God opened their eyes to see the water they needed to survive, and opened their h...

Send us Fan Mail When The Choices We Have Are Bad And Worse Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where there isn’t a good option. Sometimes because of our own choices. Abraham had a child with his servant girl whom he had intended to make his heir. Now he had a child with his wife. And he couldn’t keep both. “But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed’” from Genesis 21:12. It wasn’t a proud moment for Abraham as he left Hagar and his son by themselves in the wilderness....

Send us Fan Mail When We Think We Have No Chance Sometimes we start out without the money, resources, or connections others have. And we think we have no chance. Hagar, the slave woman abandoned in the wilderness, started with even less than most. But sensing the presence of God, she dared to believe: That her son would become a great nation—and not in spite of her, but because of her. From Genesis 21:13. And he did. Where we start is not where we have to finish. Where we are ...

Send us Fan Mail When We Finally See What We Were Missing Sometimes all we can see is what we don’t have. Hagar and her son were alone in the wilderness. They were out of water and out of hope. All she could see was what was missing. Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. — Genesis 21:19 The phrase “opened her eyes” was as much about perception as sight. When her eyes were opened, she not only saw the water she needed. She saw possibilities she could not even imagine...

Send us Fan Mail When Our Situation Feels Hopeless, God Hears Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that feel impossible. And we can’t see a way forward. That’s where Hagar and her son found themselves—alone, abandoned, and discarded in the wilderness. Then Hagar heard these words: “Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.” — from Genesis 21:17 God heard him where he was. And God hears us where we are. Just as God gave them a vision for a futur...

Send us Fan Mail When We Can Help Someone Along the Way Every so often, we find ourselves in a position to make someone else’s journey a little easier. In Genesis 18, Abraham encountered three strangers and sensed something sacred in the moment. He invited them to rest, brought water for their feet, and offered food for the journey. He didn’t know where they had come from or where they were going. He only knew he could help them continue on their way. We seldom know the whole stor...