Hope Springs Eternal. You’ve probably heard this phrase before, but you might not know that it was written by Alexander Pope, an English poet from the 18th Century. Regardless of where this quote originated, it is a commonly used expression in our culture. It evokes a sense of unshakable optimism in the face of persistent opposition. If you’ve ever read the rest of the stanza from this poem, you would find Pope reminding the reader that hope is a gift for today, given by God, to remind us of our heavenly home.
Those who know me personally, know that I have an optimistic personality. It is part of my God given nature. But it’s also something carefully cultivated over many years of clinging to the kind of eternal hope that inspired Alexander Pope hundreds of years ago. I choose every day to believe in the promises of God’s Word. That is one reason I write about hope so often. The hope I have, I want to share with you.
Whatever challenges we face as a ministry, or as individuals, we haven’t lost hope and we haven’t lost faith in God’s ability to provide. In fact, we ask God to renew faith and hope in our hearts and lives daily. Because our hope ultimately rests in Christ Jesus, none of us could ever truly lose hope. It is God’s redemptive work in our lives that gives us this hope. And God never fails!
Every time we, or our partners, meet with children at a school, or visit the home of someone i
n poverty, or help at an evangelistic event, we always want to be there with the Word of God in our hearts, our mouths and in our hands. We want to be able to give Bibles to those we encounter because we know God’s Word contains the definitive answers to mankind’s deepest longings.
We will always work hard to meet people’s physical needs with things like food or blankets. But I refuse to neglect gifts that feed the human heart. I never want to ignore someone’s need for Christ. Having a supply of Bibles on hand allows us to take words of life and the hope of eternal salvation everywhere we go.
So, let hope spring eternal in your heart. Let God to renew His presence in your heart and life today. And when He fills you with His goodness and mercy, take the next breath and remember to share that with someone else.
One way you can do that is to give a Bible to someone in need of those words of life. When you do, you are gifting more than a fleeting happy moment. You are giving a joy filled eternity to a lost soul longing for that heavenly home.
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