A great polish writer, Joseph Conrad, once wrote, “Without hope mankind would long be dead!” This truth was later confirmed by the Holocaust survivor, Victor Frankl, who lost his entire family during World War 11, mostly in concentration camps where he too was a prisoner. Through his experiences which Frankl later shared in the best-selling book, Man’s search for meaning, he found that it was those prisoners who held on to hope of survival who generally came out alive. But once one gave up on hope, the end was not so long.
I recently read a moving book, Unbroken, where there is an incident of three initial survivors of a plane crash during World War 11, down into the Pacific. From the time their plane was downed, Louise and Phil, believed they would come out alive. However, a fellow survivor, Mac, was hysterical right from the beginning, fearful of death striking any moment. He would pass on midway. But Louise and Phil, who always held out hope of surviving, would after a record 47 days on a raft float to an island, and eventually come out of the war alive.
Have you ever noticed that one of those most unfortunate things in life is people who go through life and all its trials without hope. When people who lack faith lose a loved one it is the end. They despair for there is no hope after life. It’s all darkness. Little wonder that many cling on to their objects of possession because that is all the hope they have in life. How this contrasts with us Christians because we have one of the most powerful weapon there is in life. Hope.
Christians know before we came to be our lives were marked out already for something greater and higher as revealed by the prophet Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Nothing happens in the life of a Christian by chance because there is a God at work.
Through his trials, King David prayed in Psalm 18:1: “I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” When believers are going through storms theirs is the song: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas…” (Psalm 46:1-2).
It is because of this hope that Christians can endure any situation while full of joy. Pressed against whatever force, Christians have undying faith, “for we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Today, therefore, whatever you may be going through be sure you live not as those without hope! Let that hope in Jesus radiate through your life and touch all those around you!
#Win Gospel Pamphlets are written and shared by African Digital Christian Communications Ministry. For Daily Devotions and inspiring Christian literature visit us on: https://africanchristiancommunication.org