"All other ground is sinking sand"

Someone said, “As oxygen is to the body so is hope to the soul.”  Essentially, we cannot survive without hope.  Before we go on, let me define this concept.  What is hope?  Got questions.org has an excellent definition: “Hope is a confident expectation or assurance based upon a sure foundation for which we wait with joy and full confidence.  In other words, “There is no doubt about it!”” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-hope.html)

Unfortunately, hope can be elusive.  Adrian Rogers once told the story of when he had a conversation with a man on an airplane flight.  Adrian was reading a Christian book and the man inquired about it.  When he learned the subject matter, the man had an immediate angry response; he said, “I hate God.  I don’t care for the devil”; to paraphrase, he went on to state that he didn’t care for anyone on the plane, and that his only god was alcohol.  Adrian later learned that the man’s wife had joined a cult; she had left him and taken the kids with her, at the cult devotee’s advice, since his beliefs differed from what they taught.  In essence, this man was without hope.

I wonder if someone reading this is right there.  You are completely without hope.  I know that life is tough, but there is hope.  Where is hope found?  Is it found in vicariously living through the success of your favorite football team?  No, my favorite football team – the Denver Broncos – have lost 5 straight games, and their last two losses have been a combined score of 92-39 at the hands of the Eagles and the Patriots.  Is it found in alcohol?  No, Proverbs says, in the end, alcohol will bite like a snake and poison like a vapor (23:32).  Verse 33: “Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things.”  Well, maybe it’s in living what one author calls “the pleasure driven life”.  Is hope found there?  The answer is no.  Ultimately, that lifestyle leaves you feeling empty.

Where, then, is hope found?  I want to return to the story Adrian Rogers told because I actually left you hanging right in the middle of the story.  After the man had calmed down after his outburst, Adrian replied, “You don’t hate God…you don’t know enough about Him.”  The caricature of God that he had in his mind was not the God of the Bible.  Adrian Rogers told this man about the love, grace, and forgiveness that God, in Christ, offers.  Before the airplane landed, that man put his faith, trust – and yes, his hope – in Jesus Christ.  When they were about to part ways, this man gave Adrian a giant bear hug, and declared, “I love you.”  The song lyric says it all, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness…on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

To conclude, let me say that knowing God and having an intimate relationship with Him doesn’t mean that your life will somehow magically not have its difficulties.  Jesus told His disciples, “In this world, you will have tribulation” and He was right.  To live on this planet is to be subjected to pain, heartache, and trouble.  

For example, I still think about my dad every day.  He unexpectedly entered his after-life in 2015, even though he appeared to be in picture perfect health.  I miss him, and it is tougher at this time of year as we enter the holiday season.  I know firsthand about the storms of life.  Even so, hope can be found; it is found in a relationship with God.  I don’t mean just checking in with God on a Sunday at church and forgetting about Him the rest of the week.  I mean a daily communion with God.  Run to Him.  Return to Him.  Put your hope in Him. 

Kevin