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

All of us can find serious challenges in life – even the crisis types that scream – GIVE UP! Most uncomfortably, I’ve been faced with a few of those discouraging episodes lately.  Fortunately, no matter how bad or squeezed I felt, the God of Hope always showed up.  Perhaps you are in the midst of a crisis or draining discouragement too.  If that’s the case, let’s read this Message of Hope together and let the Spirit of God encourage us His way.

Many of you may have read about Pandora’s Box.  In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on earth.  Her lot in life (per Zeus) was to be the steward of a certain box.  After receiving this gift, she was told not to open it by “friendlier” gods because they suspected Zeus had a devious plan.  Pandora’s curiosity finally overcame her, causing her to go against the command of her god.  Opening the mysterious box, she soon discovered her terrible error.  Plagues for the body and sorrows for the mind exploded from within the box out into the air.  In terror, she slammed the box shut.  What remained in the box was one last item—hope.  It would be the item to which humanity would forever depend.

One of the most beautiful depictions of hope I’ve ever seen was e-mailed to me.   There were four lit candles that were labeled:  Peace, Faith, Love, and Hope.  They flickered side by side, almost as if they were communicating with each other.  The candle of peace soon faded out, as did the candle of faith.  Not long thereafter, the candle of love dimmed away, as well.  The only one that stayed lit was the candle of hope.  A child then entered the room and noticed the situation.  He boldly declared they all should be lit and proceeded to relight the peace, faith and love candles using the continuing flame of hope’s candle.

Writer Theodore Leonard Cuyler gracefully describes hope as the flower of desire.  Its essence bars despair and always expects something good.  He declares, “There is no happiness that hope cannot surmount, no grief which it cannot mitigate.  It is the wealth of the homeless, the health of the sick, the freedom of the captive and rest of the laborer.”

We are not Greek mythology advocates, children of innocence, or gifted writers of imagery; however, all of us are alive, keen, and can be honest enough to know that Hope has been around from our beginning.  It’s a universal truth that’s stood the test of time and is still accessible to each of us today.  Scripture calls hope the anchor of our soul.

For this week and beyond, may the God of hope (the One who truly created mankind) cast His everlasting shadow upon us.  May our faith and His grace blend to bring an overflow of joy and strength in Him, for His supply of peace and love is endless.  May we realize with total certainty that we are an overcomer of any crisis or discouragement because God says so. and we were created by His design to prove it.  May we celebrate our hope in Him together—that hope that is too awesome to suffer captivity within a box.

Heb 6:19; Rom 12:12; Psalm 27:4-5; 1 John 5:5