When the world says give up, hope whispers,"Try it one more time."
Everyone needs a little hope every now and then, some more than others.
1. The great Chuck Berry, known for his guitar solos and showmanship with songs like
Johnny Be Goode and Roll Over Beethoven, didn't exactly start out as one would imagine. In his youth Berry served in prison for 3 years from 1944-1947 for armed robbery. After getting out of prison he settled down to married life and worked in an auto plant. His big break in music came when he met blues legend Muddy Waters. While serving his sentence Chuck Berry sought hope to be the founding father of his future. (one disclaimer to this story unfortunately: he did serve two more times in prison later in life)
2. The great romance singing legend Barry White, he of the bass baritone voice that ladies of all ages swooned to with songs like Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe, also served time in prison as a youth for stealing. It was while in prison and hearing Elvis sing It's Now or Never that changed his course in life.
Having hope is better than no hope at all. In fact,
"Hope is believing in spite of the evidence, and then watching the evidence change."
- Jim Wallis, Sojourners
3. I recently saw the film Miracles From Heaven, the true story of Anna Beam of Texas and stars Jennifer Garner. Anna was diagnosed at an early age with an intestinal disease that was incurable. Until faith stepped in.
Anna's mom Christy, played greatly by Garner, decides to take matters into her own hands when her daughter wasn't getting healed and God appeared silent to her prayers. You can tell Christy's demeanor and take charge personality just from this conversation with her husband:
"We need a solution and we need it now!" exclaims Christy
"And we'll get it." says her husband calmly.
"How?" she asks.
"By not losing our faith." he replies.
Like I said Christy is a take charge woman who wants everything now, but I do admire her willingness to do anything and everything she can to get her daughter well, which Christy does by taking her to a specialist 2,000 miles away.
While Christy and her daughter travel to Boston and make the decision to stay at the clinic there, Anna doesn't seem to be responding to all the treatment given to her and wants to just go back home on the farm to their family.
Christy brings Anna back home to Texas all the while Christy's faith in God diminishes. One day Anna's older sister coaxes Anna to come hang out outside, even talks Anna into climbing they're favorite tree.
An accident happens as Anna falls from the tree. I don't want to give away the entire story because I want to encourage you to see this film or read the book. But I will add in that Anna's falling from the tree put everything inside her body back into place and her intestinal disease was gone.
While Christy's faith was diminishing, her daughter Anna's never did. She held on to hope.
God proved that His timing was perfect timing in spite of what Christy saw. And that's the whole part of faith that we all struggle with at times. In Proverbs we're given the verse, A double minded man is unstable in all his ways, this is what happened to Anna's mom. She relinquished her faith to the evidence and she became unstable.
Remember, don't focus on the circumstance or struggle, focus on The Hope.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1
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