In the late 1950’s, the government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) warned the villagers that the Zambezi Valley would be flooded, as the newly built Kariba Dam wall would create a huge lake which would flood the whole valley. During the time leading up to the flooding of the valley, villagers stopped fixing broken fences; disregarded fixing leaking roofs; or sprucing up their properties. Why would they bother? The houses would be submerged under water soon. Slowly, the village and nearby town began took look like a ghost town. Many sections of the town were in disrepair. The village looked deserted before the inhabitants left. This this quote by leadership author, John Maxwell says it best, ““Where there is no HOPE for the future, there is no power in the present.”

What is hope? The dictionary defines it this way: “to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.”

All people are born with a sense of hope. We hope for a better future. We hope for better school results. We hope our sports team wins. We hope for better weather. We hope for many things in life. As Christians, our hope is not just a wish, it is a belief in someone greater than us. Our hope is not anchored in people, places, or possessions. Our hope is anchored in God. Our hope longs for God’s power, presence, and protection. Our hope is a confident anticipation of God’s redemptive grace, and a bright eternity in heaven. Our hope endures the pain of the presence in exchange for a peaceful, painless future. As Christians, we do not only want hope, we must exhibit hope, and we must dispense hope to the hopeless.

Here is an acronym I wrote to help me define hope:

HEAVEN. Hope represents our salvation. Hope represents our eternal future in heaven. Life with Jesus gives hope. Life without Jesus equals hopelessness. Many people think they have hope, but true hope comes from our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

OPTIMISM. Hope means we are full of optimism for the future. We are optimistic in all situations. We believe that the best is yet to come. With Christ, all things are possible.

PROMISE. Hope means we stand on God’s unshakable promises. Hold on to your promise. God will do it. His promises are sure. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:20

ENDURE in expectancy. Hope means we endure pain knowing that we may be down but not out. When we get knocked down we rise in victory! Hang on in there. Don’t give up. Endure today, one more time, your victory is just around the corner. “There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.” – Clare Boothe Luce

Keep your hope anchored in Christ.