The Greatest Hope

The Greatest Hope
By Brian Callewaert

​We’ve just been through two years that have been darker and more difficult for our global community than any that many of us have ever experienced. As we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel named “Global Pandemic,” we are emerging from the depths to see more difficulties looming: human decency seems to be a thing of the past with division and the ideology that if we do not agree, then we cannot get along; more war is breaking out across the world; mental illness and depression has gained a foothold within our society due to pandemic restrictions. The list can go on and on.

It would be very easy to get caught up in everything that is wrong in the world today. In fact, sensationalized news and social media feeds are designed to trap our minds in a cycle of feeding on these things. We begin to feel that there is no hope left to dig us out of the dark pit that we find ourselves in. Even as Christians, this is something that we are challenged with on a daily basis.

However, it is really important for us to remember that Christ died so that we may have hope. That is what the death and resurrection of Jesus shows us – yes, there will be times of darkness that feel very heavy, but there is also hope for what is coming next. This is not to say that following Jesus will always be rainbows and puppies. In fact, we are often told throughout the Bible to expect times that are difficult to navigate. Paul speaks to the hope that we have in times like these in Romans 5:2-5:

"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Paul also shows us that suffering is not all doom and gloom. We “rejoice in our sufferings” because they are the tempering of the steel that produces a finished product. Without being squeezed, a lemon never turns into lemonade. Sometimes we need to go through a trial or a difficult ordeal in order to grow to our full potential. We often get stuck on the fact that times are trying rather than looking beyond it to see God’s long term plan. There is often more to what is happening around us than we realize.

In moments like these, we need to turn to the hope that we have in the work of Christ. It is really easy to sit here and say that when I am not in the black of the pit. It can be a totally different story when we are facing the beast in our darkest hours.

So, how do we really put our trust in the hope we are promised? We need to build a solid relationship with God when the sun is shining. The good times are when we need to spend time getting to know the God who has offered us so much grace, compassion, and hope. When we spend time reading the word of God and praying, we are developing that relationship – we come to learn so much more about those attributes of God that get us through the dark times. These are also the times that we get to spend with mature believers who can help us to develop that relationship.

It all starts before we even experience the darkness. Simply put, if we wait until February to prepare for the winter, we will be caught off guard. We cannot expect to be ready to face trials if we have never done anything to prepare for them.

When it begins to grow dark, we can then lean into the relationships that we have with God and other believers. Our relationship with God will provide us with good habits that will help us to remember the hope that is promised. Those relationships that we developed with others will help to provide beacons in the darkness that can keep us on course.

We have been provided with the greatest source of hope to ever be offered, but we have to choose to embrace it. If we choose to embrace it early on, hope can grow within us and provide a candlelight in the darkness. If we wait to try to seek it out while already in the darkness, it is still there, but harder for us to find and ignite. Choose hope every day, and let it ignite and catch in the lives of all those around you.

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Author

Brian Callewaert is the Youth & Children's Pastor of Dryden Full Gospel Church in Dryden, Ontario. He has an Associate Diploma of Biblical Studies from Eston College and is a candidate for a Bachelor's of Arts in Ministry with a Pastoral focus from Prairie College. Brian is a commissioned member of the Apostolic Church of Pentecost of Canada. He and his wife, Jordan, and their three children live in Dryden, Ontario.