Hope Is A Powerful Thing

One night at dinner a man, who had spent many summers in Maine (USA), fascinated his companions by telling of his experiences in a little town named Flagstaff. The town was to be flooded, as part of a large lake for which a dam was being built. In the months before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the whole town were stopped.

What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months? Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled, more gone to seed, more woebegone. Then he added by way of explanation: "Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present."  -Halford E. Luccock, Unfinished Business.

Sadly, our world isn't a place that lends itself to hope. In fact, when you consider the death, diseases, natural disasters, evil, and all the other negative things that fill our world, there simply is just not a lot of room for hope.

However, one thing is certain. Hope is a powerful thing! In fact, so much so, that it inspired some pretty well known people to comment on it. This is what they had to say about "hope:"

·       G. K. Chesterton (English writer) said, “There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.”

·       Emily Dickinson (American poet), in one of her poems said, “Hope is a thing with feathers,/That perches in the soul.”

·       O. S. Marden (American inspirational author) said, “There is no medicine like hope . . .”

·       Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman philosopher wrote, “Hope is the dream of a waking man.”

·       Martin Luther (German monk, Catholic priest, professor of theology) said, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.”

Here's how the dictionary defines hope: “to have a wish to get or do something or for something to happen or be true, especially something that seems possible or likely.”  Hope, from the world’s viewpoint is just what that definition describes. The world sees hope as a wish or a desire. Hope, as the world sees it, is a longing for something that may or may not take place.

The Bible teaches us that biblical is hope something entirely different than the wishful thinking of the world. Listen to the words of Psalm 31:24, “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” And again from Psalm 71:5, “For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.”

The world says that hope is merely a fond wish or desire. The words used for hope in the Bible, on the other hand, tell an entirely different story. They teach us that biblical hope is “A deep settled confidence that God will keep His promises!” Biblical hope is a “joyful, confident expectation”.

In the face of the hopelessness that grips our world, there is one group of people that possesses genuine hope. The "believer" has hope!

I don't know what tomorrow will bring my way. It may bring death, disease and disaster. It may bring sorrow, pain and hardship. It may bring blessing, joy and happiness. I may not know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know for sure that tomorrow might bring Jesus (Titus 2:13).

The hope of the believer is wrapped up in the second coming of Jesus Christ. He is coming, and His return brings us hope for all our tomorrows.

Scripture: John 6:47; 1 Peter 3:15; Hebrews 11:1; Deuteronomy 31:6; Romans 12:12; Jeremiah 29:11; Proverbs 23:18

Prayer: Dear Father, sometimes I feel everything I do is wrong; that there is no right. Please give me the confidence and courage to try my best and know that my best is good enough. Amen

May God bless your day!

Jenelle