There is a kind of Hope

There is a kind of hope that is beyond “wishing and hoping” like the old song says.  There is a hope—and a faith—that do endure because they come from God.  Just reading the first few chapters of Luke, especially during the Christmas season, brings real awe and wonder at all God did:  the various places and people He worked in and through, including an old woman who prayed night and day in the temple.  I could quality for part of that role as an oldster and a prayer.

          Thus began our Christmas letter this year that became our New Year’s wishes to family and friends, and that first sentence has stayed with me.  Yes, there is a kind of hope and faith that do endure, beyond possibility, beyond human perseverance, beyond the time we think we should have to wait for God to act in answer to our prayers.  A favorite section of scripture addresses the tenacity of this hope that endures:  “When there was nothing left to hope for, Abraham still hoped and believed Him . . .  As a result, he became a father of many nations, as he had been told” (Rom. 4:18).  The Bible is full of “hopeless circumstances” that God turns around to rescue His people and display His splendor.

          In Acts 27, Paul recounts one of his deliverances from danger and death.  Even though he issued a grave warning of disaster at sea, no one heeded his words and their voyage sailed into stormy waters; they were “exceedingly tempest tossed” at sea (27:18).  Finally, “all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.  But after long abstinence from food, Paul stood in their midst and said, ‘Men, you should have listened to me,’” and then he added that an angel had stood by him that night, telling him not to fear, that only the ship would be lost.  Paul told them “to take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me” (27:20-25).

          Discouragement and weariness of body and spirit can overtake us if we do not turn to God for fresh encouragement, insight and hope.  For me, the story of Lazarus in John 11 has challenged, instructed and encouraged me during these last years of worsening symptoms greatly affecting my energy and mobility.  Talk about a hopeless situation—dead in a cave is about as bad as it gets.  Yet, Jesus keeps asking the sisters what they believe about Him.  That is the central question—what do we believe about Jesus.  Are we listening to Him, to the guidance of the Holy Spirit?

          Even after returning from a joyous time with our small clan now featuring Mason, 14 months and Henry, 4 ½, I was in need of a strong and fresh “word of encouragement” from God.  Among the several devotionals I read was a pearl titled, “Delay may not mean Denial,” illustrated by the story of Lazarus.  Jesus seems to have waited too long to show up.  “Jesus had bypassed simply healing His sick friend in order to perform the greater miracle of bringing him back to life.”

          Jesus healed and continues that ministry when we seek Him with the hope and faith He gives when we do. Hope in Jesus endures like no other because it’s all about God, from start to finish.