“Abounding in Hope”
Romans 15:13
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
On December 17, 1927, an eight-year-old S-class submarine, the USS S-4, was running submerged off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts, testing speed and maneuverability. And at the very same time, on the surface, a Coast Guard destroyer, the Paulding, was heading southeast in search of rumrunners carrying illegal rum.
All was quiet until suddenly, at 3:37 in the afternoon, the submarine began to surface. That’s when an officer on deck the Paulding spotted the telltale wake of a periscope rising up out of the water. “Hard astern!” came the order. “Full right rudder!”
But it was too late. A moment later, it rammed the sub, punching holes into her ballast tank and hull. Immediately, freezing water flooded in, causing her to sink by the bow.
One hundred and ten feet down, the S-4’s crew scrambled to bring the situation under control. Men stuffed clothing into a two-foot-long gash in the hull, but it wouldn’t hold. So they evacuated the space, and joined the others in the control room.
But that’s when things went from bad to worse. Saltwater gushed into the battery compartment, mixed with battery acid, and formed toxic chlorine gas, filling any space not already flooded by water. Crewmembers rushed to close the vent, but the vent was jammed. Then as water shorted out the switchboards, the boat plunged into darkness.
Just as soon as a rescue ship arrived the following morning, divers splashed into the water. A fellow sub pinged in Morris code, “How many are you?” They answered, “Six. Please hurry.” Then a few moments later, they pinged once more, “Is there any hope?”
We talk a lot about hope. We say, “I hope you feel better. I hope you have a healthy baby. I hope I get an ‘A’ in the class. I hope she likes me. I hope their marriage lasts. I hope I get a raise. I hope I make a difference in the world.”
Every day, it seems, we use that little word--hope. While our bodies might last for hours and even days without food or water, we can’t live without hope.
And right now, in the midst of a global pandemic, there are quite a lot of people who are losing hope. As I speak, nearly six hundred thousand people have already contracted Covid-19. Almost thirty thousand have lost their lives. And in the days and weeks to come, the numbers will likely grow only worse.
Just like those men on the submarine, we too can’t help but ask, “Is there any hope?”
The Bible talks a lot about hope. Isaiah chapter 40 says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Jeremiah chapter 29 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” And a psalmist wrote, “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His Word I put my hope.”
And as the apostle Paul meant to encourage the people of the church in Rome, he wrote: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
It’s interesting if you think about it. There are quite a lot of people who could have lost hope. Take Abraham Lincoln, for example. While he’s remembered today as one of the greatest leaders our nation has ever known, his life was never easy. When he was young, he went to war a captain and came home a private. Then after his numerous businesses failed, he went bankrupt twice, and was defeated in twenty-six elections. Finally, he became president of our United States.
J. K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, was once penniless, divorced, trying to raise a child, and severely depressed. Five years later, she became one of the richest women in the world.
And there’s Fred Astaire. In his first screen test, the testing director of MGM wrote, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Not handsome. Can dance a little.” After he became famous, he kept that note in his Beverly Hills home.
And the Bible is full of those who could have lost all hope too. In the book of Genesis, think of a boy named Joseph. Not only did his very own brothers strip him of his beautiful robe and throw him into a pit in the ground, they sold him into slavery, then acted as if he were dead.
David was one of the greatest kings his people had ever known. But few ever failed more miserably than him. Both Jonah and Elijah prayed that they would die. And the first and foremost of all the disciples, Peter, said three times he didn’t even know who Jesus was.
Even Jesus Himself could have lost all hope. As He prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked His disciples to watch and pray. But every one of them fell fast asleep.
And by all rights, we should be hopeless too. That’s what Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Remember that you were at one time separated from Christ...strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
So where can hope be found? There’s only one place and only one Person. His name is Jesus Christ. As John wrote in his first epistle: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
It’s been said that, years ago, fishermen had problems trying to ship codfish caught in the Northeast, across the country. If they froze them, then shipped them, by the time they arrived at the market, they had lost much of their flavor. And if they shipped the fish alive, they still wouldn’t sell, because they were soft and mushy.
Finally, someone had an idea, something that actually worked. Instead of shipping only the codfish, they first put catfish in the bins where the codfish were stored.
The reason? Catfish are the natural enemy of codfish. And during the entire trip, the codfish were swimming for their lives, so they arrived fresh. The pressure made them better.
Pressure makes us better too. It’s God’s way of challenging us, testing us, and making us rely on Him more and more. For even though we may wish it all to go away, God has a purpose in that pressure. It’s His way of bringing us to Christ.
As Paul wrote to the Romans: “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.”
Two hundred and fifty years after Christ, a pastor named Cyprian wrote a letter to a friend named Donatus. This is what he said: “This is a cheerful world as I see it from my garden, under the shadow of my vines. But if I could ascend some high mountain and look very far, what would I see? Brigands on the highways, pirates on the seas, armies fighting, cities burning, in the amphitheaters people murdered to please applauding crowds, selfishness and cruelty, misery and despair under all roofs. It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world.
“But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy that is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. The people, Donatus, are the Christians--and I am one of them.”
Some twenty years ago, two Christian musicians happened to meet at a worship conference. One was named Stuart Townend. The other, Keith Getty.
And as they sat and talked over coffee, Keith said he had written a number of melodies, but wasn’t sure what to do with them. He asked Stuart if he could help.
When the CD arrived a few days later, Stuart listened. Then he said, “The first melody on it really hit me--it was tuneful and memorable, yet it had gravitas and real emotion. Then I felt pressured to write lyrics that were as good as the song.”
This is what he wrote: “In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song; This Cornerstone, this solid Ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My Comforter, my All in All, here in the love of Christ I stand.”
As Paul once wrote to the Romans: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
We come to You, dear Lord, during this most challenging and difficult time, because we have nowhere else to go, and no one else to turn to, for there’s no one good enough or strong enough. Give us the faith we need to rely on You at all times and in every way, for Jesus’ sake. Amen