Hope
REV CHARLIE (January 2021)
To a lesser or greater extent, 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone. In Queensland we have been spared the worst of Covid-19, but it has still been disruptive and many people have had their hopes dashed. The hope of a holiday, a loved one visiting or a family reunion. Maybe even the hope of a secure job and the means to pay the bills.
This time last year we had no idea how 2020 would pan out and the same is true now. We cannot know what lies ahead of us. We want to look to the future with hope, but it is hard to do so in the midst of so much uncertainty. Be that as it may, we cannot afford to lose hope.
Some survival experts talk about the ‘rule of threes.’ As a rough guide, and depending on a range of variables, you can survive three minutes without air; three hours in a harsh environment (extreme heat or cold); three days without drinkable water and three weeks without food. I once heard an instructor add to this list, three months without hope. It would certainly seem that hope is essential, not just for our wellbeing, but for our very survival.
The question is, how do we maintain hope when nothing is going as we thought, or hoped, it would? I believe the answer lies in changing our perspective on hope. Most of the time we hope for things. We hope for a job, a holiday, a phone call from a loved one, the end of the Coronavirus, or whatever it might be. There is nothing wrong with hoping for things, however, such hopes are always uncertain. When we hope for things, we run the risk of being let down. As Christians our principal hope is not for something, but in someone. Our hope is in Christ Jesus and his promises.
No matter what happens in the world, or in our lives, Jesus is sovereign and his promises are trustworthy and true. Jesus promises forgiveness and fullness of life to those who put their trust in him. A new life that begins now and stretches into eternity. The believer’s hope is in Jesus and their eternal destiny is bound up with His. That is why the Apostle Paul, despite facing hardships and setbacks, was able to write this:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15: 13)
The hope that we have in Jesus is secure and unaffected by global events or the circumstances of our lives. Let us cling to that hope as we cross the threshold into 2021.
