Made to Hope

Psalm 33:17–22

"The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you."

Romans 8:24–25

"For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."

 

A young Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama dared to tip the political landscape. He had the charisma. He had the look. He had the Harvard Law credentials. In terms of running for president, what more could a soon-to-be 47-year-old possibly need to launch a campaign? A catchphrase. 

The Obama campaign had renowned artist, clothing designer, and political activist Stephen Fairey draw out the now infamous portrait. They went back and forth on the caption that would fall beneath the picture and be stapled on poles, canvased along city walls, and printed on flyers for the entire United States to see. Some of the first drafts had “Change,” while others had “Progress.” 

The two prior captions weren’t bad, but they didn’t have the fix they had hoped. The final draft that would live on in American History had the very word that described their attitude toward a successful final product: hope.

Wired for Hope

You and I hear the word hope on a near daily basis. 

 

“Oh, I hope you had a good sleep last night.” 

“I hope you have a good day at work.” 

“I hope your surgery goes well.” 

“I hope her mom’s okay.” 

“We hope you make it home safely.” 

 

Whether you are on the giving or receiving end of those comments or well wishes, the reality is that we live in a society that predicates itself on hope. We constantly look for signs of hope in the direst of situations. 

We refuse to give up hope when all seems lost. We rejoice when our hope surfaces in its variety of forms: number one draft picks, new jobs, political leaders, and positive diagnoses. We love to hope. We live to hope. For crying out loud, one of the most influential movies in cinema history, Star Wars, was given the episodic title A New Hope. Yet time and time again, whenever we place too much hope in someone or something, we are let down, disappointed, and emotionally destroyed. 

Our hopes never pull through as consistently as we rely upon them. If hope went up to bat for us, he might be hitting .005 on a good day, and if you don’t know how batting statistics work, that isn’t good. Yet we still hope. 

We get up in the morning hoping for a new day, a fresh start, a new chapter, a second chance, but rarely does it come our direction. We don’t get our promotion. We don’t get what the doctor ordered. We don’t get the fairy tale ending.

This time of year is particularly hopeful. We have our Christmas lists, New Year’s Resolutions, and a Presidential Inauguration. We have so many chances, so many opportunities, so many reasons to hope, but we fall into the same old cycles. But what if I told you there is someone who builds himself as the ultimate hope. Someone who isn’t elected into office or scores touchdowns or wears a stethoscope around his neck? It would be quite the reason to celebrate, right? 

Who is hope?

I know if there was any way or person who could get me out of my continual cycle of political turmoil and frustration, I would be all ears. If there was any possibility there could be a metaphorical, metaphysical, or metamorphic light at the end of the tunnel of life, all of humanity would immediately run in its direction, right? Well, if you're on edge wondering what or who this hope is, his name is Jesus.

Jesus Christ is not only the way, the truth, and the life as he says in John 14:6. He not only heals the sick, raises the dead, defeats death, lives forever, and loves you and me, but he’s our hope. He’s our hope for today and our hope for tomorrow. He is the only hope who proves himself every time. He never made a mistake. He never steers us wrong. He never gives up. If he’s batting on our behalf, he’s hitting 1.000. 

He’s one of one. One hope for all. So, whether you find yourself waking up every day hoping it’s better than the previous one, hoping for a better world every time you turn in your ballot, or hoping for something, anything to get you out of the hell of this crazy thing that we call life, Christ came to save.