Prisoners of hope – Part 3

Life without optimism will be so boring and clueless. Paul was a great apostle and teacher of hope. He taught us that the whole purpose of the scripture is to energise the Christian to have hope, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom.15:4). And in verse 13 of the same chapter, he prayed for the Church in Rome to “abound” in hope.

To “abound in hope” means to increase and overflow with the feeling of optimism. Optimism to life issues, especially in crisis times, he says comes from God, the Source, and Giver of hope. “Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” We all need to be optimistic about the future no matter the challenges we face.

Zechariah’s prophecy was addressed to the children of Israel at a time they were facing opposition and discouragement, while rebuilding the temple of God. In chapter 9:12, he describes the children of Israel as “prisoners of hope.” Is this not ironic? How can we be prisoners and yet have hope? But this is what Zechariah says, “Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today, I declare that I will restore double to you.”  The fact was that the builders of the temple were trapped in their hope, even though they faced challenges. Even at that, in their despair, God promised to restore double reward for their efforts, if only they would return to Him.
Their hope later gave way to reality.

Life is full of uncertainties. At times, when the vicissitudes of life come knocking, they could derail and destabilise us from our vision and faith in God. When this happens, we tend to falter and faint. Even David in Psalm 27:13-14, confessed that he almost succumbed to the pressure of despair: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!”  When the storms of life rage, that is when we are to be courageous and anchor our faith in God. That is also when to wait in optimism for God’s action. Edward Mote captures this fact in stanzas 2 and 3 of his popular hymn, “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Else”:

“When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.
“His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”

Solomon was right, when he wrote: “There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!” (Ecclesiastes 9:4). Beyond having hope during crises, the Christian’s hope is founded on certain unshakable tenets of faith. First, our hope is that our Lord, Jesus Christ would return someday to planet Earth. Secondly, we believe that the dead in Christ would rise and come with our Lord. Thirdly, we hope that when Christ shall come, this mortal flesh will give way to immortality. These are our hope. We must be resolute about them. We shall resume our series on REVIVAL AND REFORMATION next week. Contact: pastoracukachi@gmail.com