Hope Endures Through Affliction

We share fully in Jesus' relationship with His Father.  When trouble finds us, as it usually does, we know that we have someone we can count on, someone who cares for us.  For we know that our affliction is the key to action for this loving God. It is for Bob, a successful teacher with two small children, but who has been diagnosed with Cancer.  Devastated as Bob and his family are, Bob finds hope and his hope defies his cancer; thus, giving him the will to go on!  Why?

Because--Bob knows that our loving and merciful God will do anything to save us, love us, help us and cherish us.  And to know this and truly believe this provides us with hope.  Hope is the life line the helps us to stand when we fall.

Hope sustains us when everything else does not work.  It is hope that says to us “we will make it."  We will make it because God will not let us fail. Didn’t God send Jesus so that none of us would perish?  Indeed God did and because of this wonderful gift, we have hope.

Winston Churchill, the great leader of Great Britain, during the Nazi bombings of London said, Never, never, never give up!  And the Londoners didn’t. Jesus says, “Hope in Me and you will survive.”  And we will because, as believers, we know that when Jesus makes a promise--He keeps it.

God’s love and protection produces the endurance, i.e. the hope, needed when affliction impedes our journey.  We simply have to hold tightly to this hope and never surrender to the affliction.

Again, God wants us to endure and Jesus' words spoken when He was among us-- cheer us on.  They continue to remind us that our God truly wants us to come home to Him someday, because God’s glory is my salvation, -and so is everyone else’s salvation.

Hear then, this mantra: “Never, never, never give up" as our salvation is God’s glory.  Our hope with God’s help is the way we can do it.  Now that’s something to cheer about each and every day!