Hope When All Seems Hopeless

Let me talk about that little used word “hope” today. A good word. A Strengthening word. I need it. You need it. We all need it. None of us can get along without it. We – and our world – are falling apart today for lack or absence of it…

More than 60 years ago I graduated from HOPE COLLEGE. Great college. It was there hope was planted in my soul and being. Hope for a better life. Hope for an honest life. Hope for a decent life. Hope for a fair life. Hope for a productive life. Hope for a beneficial life. Hope to make a difference in a life where men’s souls seemed to be floundering, floating and fleeting – where men seemed to be drifting without a compass to guide them and give them direction. I pledged I did not want to lead that kind of life. Why? Because there was no hope in it. No purpose in it. No goal in it. No aim in it. I pledged I didn’t want to live a listless, lonely life. I didn’t want to be a “left-over” in life. I was convinced I was born to be in the right place at the right time for the right purpose.

And that purpose was to bless others, help make their lives richer… and give them hope. I was convinced, as I am still, that building a life based on hope is a fruitful and satisfying life. The struggle is still there. But struggle now has meaning and purpose.

If there is no escape in and from this tedious, humdrum life then we have no hope. I was convinced that if others wanted to live this way, fine. But that was not going to be my kind of life. I was determined that my life would count – no matter what!

I’ve always been impressed by the fact they named the largest diamond in the world the “Hope diamond.” Finding such a large treasure in such a small package gives man hope.
Hope was personified in Greek mythology as Elpis. Remember that? When Pandora opened Pandora’s Box, she let out all the evil of the world, and only hope remained.

And so each day we are surrounded by evil, repetition, dreariness and hopelessness – and what is there left? You guessed it… HOPE! The Greeks knew it. You know it. I know it. It is one of life’s most valuable virtues. No price can be put on it. If and when it is gone, there is nothing to replace it. There is no substitute for it.

When Friedrich Neitzsche (we’ve spoken of him before) in his “In Human, All Too Human,” he argued that Zeus did not want to throw his life away and to that end he gives man hope.” Smart god – Zeus! Smart man Nietzsche!

Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.

I confess that the peeks in my life were inevitably all accomplished against hope. Hope was all but gone. But I pressed on, despite the fact I was tired and discouraged. I refused to accept the status quo for my life. I was confident God had more in store for me than that. And He proved Himself true to His Word. And I thank Him for that. My life has exceeded my expectations – and only for one reason. God planted the seed of hope in my soul… to continue to press on for something better – despite the fact the odds were all against me.

You may feel the odds are against you! They aren’t. They are for you. God is not against you. He is for you. But you must reach out and grasp His hand. You must reach out and lay hold of this hope that is available to you – and me. Embrace it. Hold it. Clench it to your breast. Love it. Cherish it. Cultivate it!

This world is filled with evil. Yes it is. But it is also filled with GOOD. And when that comes our way, we don’t want to let it pass by – and slip through our fingers. We need to reach out and grab hold of it at all costs. Opportunities may come our way only once. We can’t be asleep when those moments and times come!

A good thought to remember…

To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

Oscar Wilde says, “We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.” Keeping perspective in life is the difference between darkness and light.

Are you confused, floundering, hog-tied, empty, mystified, at your wits end? HOPE! "HE is our hope" (I Tim. 1:1). "Christ in you, the hope of glory!" (Col. 1:27).