Hope and Strength

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


The story is told of a father who had twin sons. One son was an optimist, the other a pessimist. On the twins' birthday, while the boys were at school, the father loaded the pessimist's room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist's room he loaded with horse manure. That night the father passed by the pessimist's room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly. "Why are you crying?" the father asked. "Because my friends will be jealous, and I'll have to read the instructions, and I'll constantly need batteries, and my toys will get broken," answered the pessimist. Passing the optimist's room, the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure. "What are you so happy about?" asked the father. To which the optimist replied, "There's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"

Sometimes we may be tempted to think that a person who has hope is merely one who is born with a disposition toward optimism. But here's more to it than that. Hope is available to every single one of us.

To have hope simply means that you believe that there is a future, and that future is good. It's the awareness that no matter what happens, we're going to survive. The storm may rage, the problems seem insurmountable, the stress more than we can bear. But to have hope is to say, "It doesn't matter what happens to me, somehow I'm going to make it through." It's similar to what the Psalmist said, "I will not be afraid what man can do unto me." (Psalms 56:11, 118:6) The same idea is picked up by the writer to the Hebrews: "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:6,7)

But what struck me as I looked through the Scripture was the connection between "hope" and "strength". For example:

"Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD." (Psalms 31:24) , and, "The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope ("refuge" - KJV) of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." (Joel 3:16)-

I love the picture we have in Habakkuk 3:19 "The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights."

And the familiar, oft repeated promise in Isaiah 40:31, "They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

But what I'd like to do for these few minutes is to talk about Hope using the letters of the word as an acrostic, each letter standing for something important to the realization of hope in our own lives.

We read it last Sunday night, this probing question, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalm 42:5,11)

Here are four answers to despair, four ways to realize hope:

I. Hold Fast

    How many times have we heard someone say it this way, "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on."

    Jesus said, "He that endures to the end shall be saved."

    And remember the text we read a couple of weeks ago, "Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58)

    Determination and hope go together; determination and "stick-to-it-iveness" go together. Some of you may remember the chorus we used to sing many years ago, "I am determined, I've made up my mind, I'll serve the Lord." Was it the Ford Motor Co. that made popular the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going!"?

    To have hope means to hold fast during the difficult season. Hope says, "Ride it out. You've been through bad times before, and God has brought you through. There will be a tomorrow, and it will be good. After all, the Scripture says, 'And 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 8:18)

II. Obey

    Psalms 37:39 tells us that "The salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble." We need to know what God is saying, and determine to obey Him whatever the cost. Remember what the disciples said when they were told they should no longer preach about Jesus? Even though they knew that it would mean persecution, and they may be called on to die as did Jesus, they said, "we will obey God."

    How well I remember the closing moments of each of the high school assemblies where I was a student. These assemblies were generally held in the large auditorium which seated, at one time, half of the student body of 2,500 students. But no matter what the subject matter, every assembly ended with the Principal leading the students in a recitation of Psalms 19:14: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."

    So determine right now to always obey God. Refuge and rescue come to those who live in obedience to Him. Jesus is our great example in this. Paul in Philippians tells us that "He became obedient, even unto death." Let me ask you this question, "Was the end good for Jesus?" Oh yes, "God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name."

III. Pray

    This is the most obvious of the four things we're talking about concerning hope - it is realized through prayer. When discouraged, pray; when depressed, pray; when downhearted, pray; when dismayed, pray.

    Did you know that sometimes the Bible repeats itself? Compare the song that David writes for the occasion of the returning of the Ark to Jerusalem (I Chronicles 16:7-22) with Psalm 105 :1-15). It's identical. But right near the beginning of that Psalm are these words, "Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually."

    And of course, that's what "wait on the Lord" in Isaiah 41 means. When Jesus instructed His disciples to go back into Jerusalem after His ascension, He said to them "Wait, until you be clothed with power." And they returned to the upper room and prayed for ten days. Then strength came.

IV. Enjoy

    This may come as a surprise to some. Too often, anything deemed religious is anything but joyous. But consider the story of Nehemiah and the multitude of workers who were repairing the walls of the City of Jerusalem. After the job was completed, they had a feast. First they read from the Law. From daybreak until noon the people stood and listened, and as the listened to the reading of the Law, they began to weep. But Nehemiah stood up and said, "Don't mourn or weep. Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10) so the "people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them."

    In other words, "Hope" is the designated driver - it drives us to the party!

    Listen to David: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one." (Psalm 28:7,8)

    Yes, there is a time for mourning. Sorrow is a very real part of our experience. Whenever we suffer the loss of a relative or friend, we are nearly overcome with tears. But then we remember Paul's words, "We sorrow not as those who have no hope." Because we have hope, we begin to live again. We begin to laugh again. We begin to once again enjoy life.

    So them to H-O-P-E is to Hold fast, Obey, Pray and Enjoy.

Conclusion:

    Jeremiah is often referred to as the "Weeping Prophet". In addition to the book that goes by his name, he also is credited with writing the book called "Lamentations." A "lament" is a song of sorrow. Right in the middle of this little collection of mournful poetry is one of the most beautiful expressions of hope we can find anywhere:

    So I say, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD." I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:18-23)

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