Alexander Pope wrote, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast”. I wish that were always true but for the vast majority of people I am afraid it is not. This is especially noticeable during these dull grey days and long nights of winter.
The alarming rise in teen-age suicide points out the fact that hopelessness is not just a problem people face as they age and their health begins to fail. Many people of all ages give in to cynicism as is reflected in the common expression, “Don’t get your hopes up.”
I fail to understand why anyone would give that kind of advice. Who would have ever solved any problem if they did not hope that it could be solved? Who would have found the cure for any disease if they had accepted the idea that it was just hopeless?
I once heard a preacher say that a person can live weeks without food and days without water, but only hours without hope. Life, at least life which is enjoyable to live, certainly stops the moment hope disappears.
The greatest verse of Scripture about the subject of hope is probably Romans 15:13. It says…
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, in believing that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit”.
Notice the very first word. It is “now”. No matter what you are facing at this moment, God wants you to know that hope is available. He even describes Himself as “the God of hope”. He is the only sure source and endless supplier of hope. The center section of the verse provides the promise that you can be filled “with all joy and peace” and “abound in hope”. This amazing verse even tells us how to do this; by “believing that you may”, “through the power of the Holy Spirit”.
No Christian ever has to become hopeless. At least we never have to stay that way. So, go ahead. Get your hopes up! God has given you both the permission and the power to do so.
Bro. Dennis