Hope That Empowers
I recently wrote about living in the hope of gaining the “one thing” (Psalm 27:4) that matters. I suggested that the hope of living in the presence of Jesus for eternity stands above everything else. Alongside that, everything else pales into insignificance. Today I’d like to suggest that the best kind of hope is a hope that also empowers us to achieve it.
Why does that matter? It is all very well to desire something, but do we have the strength to pursue it over the long term? In 1975, Gough Whitlam, after being dismissed as Prime Minister by the Governor General of the time, called on Australians to “maintain the rage.” He was very aware that heightened emotions are hard to maintain. They take a lot of energy, and without that, the passion of that moment would very quickly cool, and these events would fade into history. In the bible, the prophet Isaiah was very aware of the limitations of our capacity to “maintain the rage” when he wrote, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall” (Isaiah 40:30).
Christians can find themselves under relentless pressure from a world that doesn't really care what God wants and doesn’t respect those who do. That pressure wears us down so that, rather than standing out, we choose to blend in. We stop thinking that we have anything to offer the world or that we can make a real difference. We just get tired and our energy and enthusiasm fades. That is why we need a hope that empowers.
The hope of spending eternity in the presence of Jesus does precisely that. Although our human strength will ultimately fail, God’s strength will not. Isaiah wrote, “He will not grow tired or weary” (Isaiah 40:28). But more than that, to those whose hope is grounded in him, he freely gives “strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak... [they] will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31).
Hope that renews and empowers. That is the hope we need.
Neil Percival
Why does that matter? It is all very well to desire something, but do we have the strength to pursue it over the long term? In 1975, Gough Whitlam, after being dismissed as Prime Minister by the Governor General of the time, called on Australians to “maintain the rage.” He was very aware that heightened emotions are hard to maintain. They take a lot of energy, and without that, the passion of that moment would very quickly cool, and these events would fade into history. In the bible, the prophet Isaiah was very aware of the limitations of our capacity to “maintain the rage” when he wrote, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall” (Isaiah 40:30).
Christians can find themselves under relentless pressure from a world that doesn't really care what God wants and doesn’t respect those who do. That pressure wears us down so that, rather than standing out, we choose to blend in. We stop thinking that we have anything to offer the world or that we can make a real difference. We just get tired and our energy and enthusiasm fades. That is why we need a hope that empowers.
The hope of spending eternity in the presence of Jesus does precisely that. Although our human strength will ultimately fail, God’s strength will not. Isaiah wrote, “He will not grow tired or weary” (Isaiah 40:28). But more than that, to those whose hope is grounded in him, he freely gives “strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak... [they] will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31).
Hope that renews and empowers. That is the hope we need.
Neil Percival