Hebrews 6:19, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and
secure."
A passenger on a cruise ship was leaning over the ship's railing because he was so seasick. A steward came along and attempted to encourage the miserable man by saying, "Don't worry, sir. No one ever died of sea sickness." The unhappy passenger replied, "Don't tell me that! It's only the wonderful hope of dying that is keeping me alive."
Christian Women's Club "Progress Magazine" told the story of a teacher who was assigned to visit a little boy in the hospital and review nouns and adverbs with him. She was surprised to find the boy in the hospital burn unit, horribly burned and in great pain. The shocked teacher went over the lesson as best she could. The next day one of the nurses asked her what she did to that boy. She said they had been very worried about the boy, that he had seemed to give up, but since the teacher came he had begun to fight back. Later the boy explained that he had no hope of living until he saw the teacher. Then he decided that they wouldn't send a teacher to tutor a boy who was dying!
Hope is one of Jesus' greatest gifts to us. It is our hope in Christ that enables us to endure, to persevere, to keep on keeping on through our darkest times--through loss, grief, sorrow, failure, fractured relationships, loneliness, poverty, illness--through all the winter times of life.
Douglas Malloch wrote: "You have to believe the buds will grow,
Believe in the grass in the days of snow;
Ah, that's the reason a bird can sing--
On his darkest day he believes in spring."
On our darkest days we have the hope of heaven to anchor our souls, to keep us steady through the waves and storms of life. Paul gives us this challenge in Hebrews10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
From Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
A passenger on a cruise ship was leaning over the ship's railing because he was so seasick. A steward came along and attempted to encourage the miserable man by saying, "Don't worry, sir. No one ever died of sea sickness." The unhappy passenger replied, "Don't tell me that! It's only the wonderful hope of dying that is keeping me alive."
Christian Women's Club "Progress Magazine" told the story of a teacher who was assigned to visit a little boy in the hospital and review nouns and adverbs with him. She was surprised to find the boy in the hospital burn unit, horribly burned and in great pain. The shocked teacher went over the lesson as best she could. The next day one of the nurses asked her what she did to that boy. She said they had been very worried about the boy, that he had seemed to give up, but since the teacher came he had begun to fight back. Later the boy explained that he had no hope of living until he saw the teacher. Then he decided that they wouldn't send a teacher to tutor a boy who was dying!
Hope is one of Jesus' greatest gifts to us. It is our hope in Christ that enables us to endure, to persevere, to keep on keeping on through our darkest times--through loss, grief, sorrow, failure, fractured relationships, loneliness, poverty, illness--through all the winter times of life.
Douglas Malloch wrote: "You have to believe the buds will grow,
Believe in the grass in the days of snow;
Ah, that's the reason a bird can sing--
On his darkest day he believes in spring."
On our darkest days we have the hope of heaven to anchor our souls, to keep us steady through the waves and storms of life. Paul gives us this challenge in Hebrews10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
From Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
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