FROM THE PULPIT: THERE'S ALWAYS HOPE

There is an old story about hope. A certain poor farmer owned one horse. He solely relied on this horse for everything, from plowing to pulling the wagon into town.

One night, a thunderstorm frightened the horse and it ran away into the hills, disappearing into the darkness. The search to locate the horse was in vain.

The neighbors in the village felt pity for the poor farmer. "We're sorry for your bad luck and misfortune," they said.

But the farmer replied, "It's too early to tell if this is bad luck. I have hope."

After two weeks, the farmer's horse returned to the farm. With the horse, two dozen wild horses followed. The farmer and his son were able to catch all of them in the corral.

The neighbors in the village couldn't believe the eyes. "You're the luckiest man in the word," they exclaimed.

The farmer was humble. "It's too early to tell if this is truly good luck, but I have hope."

The farmer and his son set out to break and train the horses. They planned to sell them for riding and plowing chores. The son was accidentally thrown from one of the horses and he broke his leg in three places. The doctor doubted if the son would ever ride a horse again.

When the news of the accident spread through the village, the farmer's neighbors were sympathetic. "We're sorry for your bad luck and misfortune," they said.

But the farmer replied, "It's too early to tell how this will work out, but I have hope."

A couple of weeks later, a war broke out. All the young men from the village were drafted into the army. Because the farmer's son had a broken leg, he was excused from the draft. In a bloody battle during the war, all the young men from the village were killed.

In the midst of their tragedy, the village neighbors remembered the farmer's hope. Even the events which looked to be tragic unfolded to be the means of unexpected good, while the events that seemed so wonderfully good didn't hold their promised potential.

Joseph, in the Old Testament, shared this insight with his brothers who betrayed him. "You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day,, to save many people" (Genesis 50:20)

The Apostle Paul said, "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

Hope keeps up from becoming prisoners of our own moment in history. We know that things can, and do, change, according to the sovereign will of God.

We are not wise enough to pass accurate judgment on the state of conditions as we experience them, yet we must believe that God is at work, using our foolish mistakes and the vindictiveness of other people to fulfill his divine purposes.

When bad things happen to us, hope keeps us going. Hope prevents the present from becoming the only alternative to the future. Hope envisions a reason for living. Hope reminds us it's too early to draw any final conclusions.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the basis of our hope. God has the power to redeem our lives form sin, and clearly demonstrates that even death cannot defeat us.

The resurrection is our confirmation that God is at work in our lives, working with his redemption grace to turn our tragedies into blessings, that his ultimate will shall be accomplished here on earth.