Hope

At Evergreen Christian yesterday we talked about Hope. We commenced an Advent series that will last 4 weeks, covering the topics of Hope, Love, joy, and Peace. As I sat watching the film "Shawshank Redemption" today, Andy Dufresne's voice called to me at the end of the film. He said in a letter to his friend Red:

"Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

This was a continuation of an earlier conversation the two had while spending their 18th year in prison together (Red was at approx. 36 years). Andy had began to speak of music as a glorious object of hope, saying that in prison you need music so you don't forget "there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours."

Red asks, "What are you talking about?" To which Andy responds, "Hope." The final part of that conversation comes from the man who had been behind bars for nearly 40 years. He says, "Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."

Red was right. Hope is a dangerous thing. It can drive a man insane. It is a simple act to concede defeat, to surrender. When a person is in the midst of difficulty the easiest move to make is to drop everything and become content. It is natural to become content in struggle because when it happens, things can only get better. If we constantly look forward to something with hope and that thing never comes, we are dealt a crushing defeat. To surrender all arms and to lose hope is to say that rescue will not come. In that, we protect ourselves from disappointment.

It is far more difficult to hope. It takes greater courage and determination to hope in something greater...but most of us do take that risk. Most humans dare to hope for a good life, a good marriage, a nice job, true love, quality friends, etc. When those things fail hope is lost, or it shifts to something else. But when there is nothing left- what do we hope in? When you are 80 and those dreams have passed, is there hope left? When you don't have money to pay for school, is there hope? When your marriage isn't what you expected it to be, is there hope? Can there be hope in the midst of the dark night of the soul?

My answer is a resounding yes. There is a part of us that "isn't made of stone. That they can't get to...that they can't touch. That's yours..." That part will not surrender hope at any point. And that part is from God. He created us as beings of hope, and gave us hope.

Thursday I spent most of the day choking back tears, holding back the dam of emotions that had welled up over time. That night the dam broke. The tears flooded my face and the all too familiar feeling of hopelessness warred against all that I knew. All my beliefs were thrust into action, and I was forced into action. It was in that place that this came to mind, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." (Romans 15:13). In calling to mind that the God I believe in is the God of Hope, He created hope. He stirred it in my heart to hope in something and in that moment to know that all was not lost. There was hope. Despair was defeated on the cross 2000 years ago and because of that I can now abound in hope. My soul is so filled with hope in knowing that one day I will see the sweet face of my Savior, the one who gave me hope, and my hope will become something more, it will become reality.

At the end of Shawshank Redemption, Red is walking across a beach in Mexico and narrating with these words- "I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope."

You were right Red- hope is a dangerous thing. But hope in God does not go unfulfilled...will you dare to hope? Will you be so bold as to stare despair in the face knowing that the tunnel ends, and his mercies are new every morning? Will you hope? I hope you will.