This week in the US we all held our breath. The presidential debates were happening. It was a train wreck and we all watched the train go straight into that wall. I won’t reveal my political preferences because as a mother of a soldier, I keep these very private views mostly to those who know me to protect my children who are in the service. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t watch it all. I have to admit, the whole debate robbed me of a little hope. But then I remembered that as believers, we put our hope in God and not man. As I was scrolling through the news and catching the highlights of the debate, I came across a film comparing the 2012 debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. They shook hands, greeted each other politely and tried to remain civil. Fast forward to the last few years. People are yelling, insulting each other and generally being horrible to each other. This makes you roll your eyes.
Hope dies last
Alexander Pope wrote “An Essay on Man” in 1734. In that work, he coined the phrase, “Hope springs eternally in the human breast; man is never at hand, but always blessed.” What does that mean? It means that even when the situation looks bleak, there is always hope and faith within us to find that source of hope. You may have to dig a little. There may be times when you may have to search hard. But there is hope. Right now, the dog days of summer are here in the South. Going out is like getting into a hot box. Some people like that. I’m not a big fan. I always appreciate summer mornings, but I look forward to the next glorious season. The gloriously colorful days of fall. It reminded me of life and its seasons. Just like fall, winter, spring, and summer, the seasons of life change.
There are several stories in the Bible that give hope
Yesterday I read a meme that said: You are not at your worst. One season David was a shepherd. The next season he was a king! One season Ruth worked in a field. The next season that field was hers. One season Mordecai sat outside the king’s palace. The next season he was in the palace. We serve a God who works things out for good.
David was not born into royalty. He was a simple shepherd.
Can you imagine being a shepherd in a field and knowing that this would be your life? To some, that may just be heaven. Others may think, “Is this it?” In the book of Samuel in the Old Testament, Samuel was led by God to Bethlehem. There he found David, a shepherd and talented musician. He was taken to the court of King Saul to play for him. David’s playing soothed Saul’s broken spirit. At that time, the people of Israel were embroiled in a war with the Philistines. To their great dismay, they encountered the giant Goliath. While everyone was cringing in fear, David took on Goliath with a sling and a stone. This act initially earned David much favor with the king. Over time, the king became very jealous of David and tried to kill him. In a hurry, David fled into enemy territory to save his life. As fighting with the Philistines continued, King Saul and his sons were killed in battle. Saul had lost God’s favor. After that, David was anointed king of Israel. If you ever take the time to read the Psalms, David pours out his heart to God. There are times when he praises God to the skies, other times when he is in deep despair. In all of these scriptures, at no stage of his life does he lose his hope in God.
Ruth lost her first husband, but gained much more through her faith and devotion
Ruth was a woman who married an Israelite. She left her home and family to live in Israel. After some time, she lost her husband. Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi, lost her husband and sons. Ruth could not bear to leave her mother-in-law alone and without anyone. Ruth coined the phrase, “Where you go, I will go; where you stay, I will stay. Your people are my people.” This is a testimony of faith and faithfulness. When they returned to Naomi’s house where they lived modestly, Ruth was in a field one day gathering the crops when she caught the attention of the landowner, Boaz. He fell in love with her and they got married. At this point, the field actually belonged to Ruth. Can you imagine there were times when she had to look for that glimmer of hope? I can. Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David. I would say that is a picture of hope.
Mordecai began at the palace gate, but climbed up to the palace
At the time of Mordecai, the Jews were in captivity in Babylon. Mordecai had a cousin named Esther, whom he raised as his own child. He had a job at the palace gate. As you can imagine, the gate was full of rumors. When Esther grew older and more beautiful, she was chosen to be King Xerxes’ queen. One day, Mordecai heard of a plot to assassinate the king. When he learned of it, he told Esther, and Esther told the king. When the king learned of it, the plot was foiled, and Mordecai’s name was recorded in the king’s chronicles. Mordecai’s troubles were just beginning after his heroic deed. There was another man named Haman who was an official in the king’s court. He hated Mordecai because he neither paid homage nor bowed to him. Mordecai’s faith did not allow him to bow to anyone other than God. In his blind hatred, Haman hated a plan to kill all the Jews. He poisoned the king’s mind with vile stories about the people, and the king actually set a date for destruction. Based on this decree, Mordecai told Esther about the evil plot. He implored Esther to seek out the king and tell him to save her people. Esther knew that an unannounced visit to the king could be fatal. In her hesitation, Mordecai offered these encouraging words: “Who knows whether you have not come into your royal position just for such a time as this?” In other words, perhaps God put her there to save the Jewish people. Esther, strengthened by Mordecai’s words, actually saw the king and implored him to save her people. After this, Haman was hanged on the gallows he had erected for Mordecai. He was elevated to second rank after the king. Again, there were surely times when they clung to what little hope they had.
How do these stories give us hope?
How do these stories give us hope? We can know that these stories we are being told are human stories. They have had times when everything was not rosy. Right now, groceries are expensive. Our politicians are shouting at each other. It seems that every voice that can be evil has a megaphone set to the loudest volume possible. We can find hope. Reach out to your neighbor. Check in on your neighbor. Don’t go through life blindly and definitely don’t ignore the world’s problems. Better not stay there. I have a theory that if you stay in an echo box of hate, you start to hate. An echo box of no different ideas? You won’t learn anything. If you stay in an echo box of one opinion? That will never change your mind for the better. Stay in a place where your ideas are challenged. A place of kindness, gentleness, a place that advocates silent listening instead of dismissive shouting. There will always be situations that are difficult to navigate, but you have something on your side: hope. Faith. Prayer. Hold on to these principles. Let them be your home and hope will truly endure forever. I leave you with the words of Desmond Tutu. “Hope is being able to see that there is light in the midst of all the darkness.”
