The Thrill Of Hope

Hope! We all need it. Sadly some people have lost hope. In the movie ShawShank Redemption Red tells Andy “Hope? Let me tell you something, my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It's got no use on the inside. You'd better get used to that idea.” When we lose hope we can begin to resent hearing about it from anyone else. We don’t once again want our hearts dashed with expectations not realized and goodness not experienced. We can view ourselves as just being realistic and sparing ourselves and others from all this hope nonsense. All that needs to be said to that is Bah humbug. But as Andy knew without hope people give in to despair. You can see it on the face, hear it in the voice, and recognize it all around you when the spirit of Hopelessness takes over. Sadly this can even attack people who love God and love the Church. Have you given up hope? Does this time of year bring you down? Do you have doubts and question whether God is real and if he is whether all these promises he made are ever going to come true? The Bible’s big story is that right when people thought God would never keep his promises, at just the right time, Jesus showed up and brought a Thrill of Hope into the lives of Shepherds and his parents. You know that Biblical hope is not finger crossing rather It is a confident expectation that God will keep his promises. We like those people are waiting and God wants to heal your hopelessness and restore in you and I The Thrill of Hope.