I lived in inner-city Chicago for a year. My neighborhood wasn’t among the best, to put it mildly. A few blocks from my apartment lay the border between two warring gangs, and during the summer, with my windows open, what sounded like firecrackers could be heard in the distance. Sadly, I knew it was something far more deadly. Fortunately, only once was a gunshot close enough for me to hear someone screaming.
This was my first time living in the inner city. If you had asked me then what depressed me most about my neighborhood, I wouldn’t have said the lack of security, the trash strewn about, or the drug house across the street. While those things were certainly distressing, something else affected me more. I could feel it as I walked the streets, like an invisible gas that permeated every nook and cranny and affected the whole area: a lack of hope.
I had never thought before about the impact of hope on the human soul. But here was evidence all around me of what happens when hope dies. I suppose it’s not so surprising. If there are no prospects for a better life, no expectation of improvement, and no confidence in any kind of success, then, frankly, why even try? It’s easier to sink into frustration, anger, and despair.
This sense of hopelessness hits us on an existential level as well as in less serious areas. For example, for most of my adult life I have battled acne. I thought that once I was no longer a teenager, the problem would go away, but no, I wasn’t so lucky. Nothing I tried seemed to work. I eventually lost hope and gave up. After several years, I spoke with an esthetician who convinced me my outlook wasn’t as bleak as I had thought. Armed with a new attitude, I tried again, and slowly but surely my condition improved. What made the difference? Hope.
It’s not surprising that the Bible talks a lot about hope. God is the One who made us, after all, and he knows better than anyone how we function. The pages of Scripture reverberate with hope. The Bible uses the word differently than we do. It doesn’t refer to a situation where we don’t know if something will happen but are optimistic that it will, such as saying, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” No, in the Biblical sense, the word describes an assurance of something, even if it hasn’t happened yet or we don’t see it. It’s the certainty that something is true or will happen in the future.
What kind of hope does God give us? It touches every area of life, from the ultimate question of where we’ll spend eternity to our victory over sin and weakness, to the assurance of help and grace in any situation, big or small.
Unfortunately, hope is exceedingly fragile. The evil world around us makes sure of that! If we’re not careful to fan its flames by focusing on God’s faithfulness and promises, it can begin to flicker and eventually go out, causing the kind of destruction and despair I witnessed in my Chicago neighborhood.
May the words of Romans 15:13 come true for you and for me. Here is my paraphrase: May God, who gives hope, fill your hearts with all kinds of joy and peace because you trust in Him. As a result, may the Holy Spirit make your hope so abundant that it is visible to all and encourages the hearts of those around you.