By Rev. Daniel Yaw 

Hopelessly Hopeful
The phrase above is truly paradoxical and yet it is true the way the scriptures reveal to us today.
 
Hopelessness Abound
If we were to look around us today, many things seem hopeless.  The covid situation only brings to us the realization of it.  One little virus can turn things around where we are stripped bare and begin to see the realities in life.

In the lyrics of the song, “people need the Lord” by Steve Green, the song begins with these words; “Every day they pass me by, I can see it in their eyes.  Empty people filled with care; headed who knows where?  On they go through private pain, living fear to fear.  Laughter hides their silent cries……”

That is what really life is about.  While we whistle with a smile, deep down they must know that something is missing. In every person’s life, there are losses, disappointments, pain, anguish, and unfulfillment. If we are honest with ourselves, we must look at life and have a pervasive feeling of hopelessness.

We are constantly bombarded with disappointments, despair and defeat.  The truth of the Bible did not hide these facts.  It all boils down to the corruption brought about by the sins of man.
 
The world began well as God made a declaration after each creation that it was good.  At the climax of His creation where a man was created, it was very good.  It was so until the invasion of sin and disobedience.  Death invaded humankind and following that is the fear that comes along with it.

The Bible described the death as “an enemy”   (1 Corinthians 15:26). Job calls it “the king of terrors” (Job 18:14). If we remove God from our thinking, and then look into our hearts, we must admit that we have a fear of death.  We feel helpless and hopeless in light of this inevitable end to life as we know it.

When we think we have overcome something like covid-19, out comes another threat –monkeypox.  The bible states that the wages of sin isj death.  It all seems hopeless.
 
Living Hope declared
Yet in the middle of all this is the message of hope.  Rightly so that when we remove God, we are in a hopeless state.  Yet when God comes into the picture, hope arises.  Hopelessly hopeful is the message of God to us today.

In I Peter 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.”

We are born again to a living hope by Christ’s resurrection for an inheritance – which is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading.

This is the kind of hope we have.
 
Living Hope versus dead hope
God alone can give hope - a genuine, true hope that rests on solid evidence and not on wishful thinking that we often find in the world.  That is why it is called a living hope – not a dead or useless one.
 
Inheritance unfading.
Believe it or not, inheritance here is fading.  My being rich today, does not guarantee me being rich tomorrow.  My supposed “inheritance” from a wealthy father, may fade with time.  Yet our hope in God and the inheritance kept for us in heaven is sure, secured, and stable.  It does not change as long as I have God.
 
Hopelessly hopeful
The two responses of Peter are that he can rejoice in the midst of sufferings and that his faith in God will secure such great salvation in Christ.  While it is true we have our share of affliction, that does not bring me to a state of hopelessness, instead amid hopelessness, I learn to find hope in God.

May the God of hope keep you always in trying times and in triumphing times.