I’m gonna go ahead and warn you. This post is full of questions, and next to no answers. I hope you won’t stop reading. I hope the questions will give you some fodder for deeper reflection. I also hope you’ll spend a few minutes of your day with me this Sunday celebrating the single most significant source of hope we have in this life … the resurrection of Jesus.
Now, most of the instances of the word hope in the above paragraph are expressions of desire. I stated what I would like to be true, but I have no ability to cause what I want to happen to happen. There’s nothing wrong with that. We tell each other all the time how we would like things to turn out. I hope we have beautiful weather this weekend. I hope my March Madness team wins it all. I’m sure I’m not alone. Put these in the category of wishful thinking.
But isn’t there a more substantial sense of hope that rises above desirable circumstances? What if my circumstances go south? What if some of them stay south? Do I lose hope? Am I left in despair? How does one find their way out of a place of resignation?
That is, by the way, a place more and more of us find ourselves or the people closest to us; the people dearest to us. We live in a world that seems to be in a state of existential threat … pandemic, wars with global potential, environmental concern, and artificial intelligence, just to state what most commonly fill our digital feeds. In response, anxiety and despair loom large.
So, is there a place for any kind of real hope in this day and age, or is such a thing delusional? Mere optimism isn’t going to cut it, but could a hope that moves beyond wishful thinking make a difference?
The writer of Hebrews tells us there is a type of hope that serves as, “an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.” (Hebrews 6:19, CSB) That sounds like something more along the lines of confident expectation; something you can wrap your heart and mind around and hold onto regardless of circumstance. That’s just what I need!
Please know, I’m not talking about the power of positive thinking. This isn’t hype. It’s hope. It’s assurance grounded in promises kept by our promise-keeping God.
If you, or anyone you know, could use a little (or a lot!) of that kind of hope, please join me this Sunday. We have a lot to celebrate!