Neville Turley

“We put our hope in the Lord; he is our protector and our help. We are glad because of him; we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:20-21 (GNT)

Hope is defined in the dictionary as a feeling of expectation and desire. We all want things to go well for us and our loved ones. Even when we are depressed and in despair, we cling determinedly to the hope that things will get better.

Some of us are fighters by nature and with every fibre of our being, pit our strength against our circumstances. Such a man was WE Henley (1845-1903). He wrote the poem “Invictus” as he lay in bed suffering from tuberculosis of the bone. He was 35 years old and had just had his left leg amputated, a traumatic operation in Victorian times.

The poem reflects his valiant human spirit and a determination to overcome adversity in the memorable lines:

I am the master of my fate

I am the captain of my soul

There is no denying his courage. But no matter how despairing our circumstances, we need not go it alone.

Our Heavenly Father revealed his great love for us by allowing his Son to come to earth, take our sins upon his shoulders and lay down his life so that we could be reconciled to him.

However, that great act of love demands a response from us. We have to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and accepting him as our Saviour, commit our life to him.  Only by fully placing our trust in God, can we live in confident expectation that he will be with us as we meet life’s challenges.

We need to put our hope in Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:1-7). He is our one and only hope.

This March we will look at the virtue of hope, the precious gift from the Holy Spirit of God to you and me.

Prayer: May your constant love be with us, Lord, as we put our hope in you.  Amen