Everlasting Hope - 50 Days of Hope
Everlasting Hope What are you wishing for today? A cure? A long remission? A successful surgery? A not-too-toxic treatment? More energy? Less pain? And on what or whom are you pinning those hopes? I’ve seen people put their hope in all sorts of things—vitamins, nutritional supplements, macrobiotic diets, and even coffee enemas. (I know one patient who completely depleted her body of electrolytes because of this daily cup of joe!) Some people put their hope in their doctor and his or her abilities. Some people feel they have no hope. Maybe some physician has even told you there is no hope. When I was going through my treatments for cancer and then living with the reality that I had maybe a 40-percent chance of surviving cancer, many people asked me, “How do you do it?” The answer was that I had hope. Nothing about my cancer made any sense to me. Why should I, a young, healthy person have cancer? Why should my husband have to face the possibility of being widowed again? Why should my little girls fear growing up without their mother? None of it made sense. Only one thing did make sense, and that was knowing this life is not all there is because I had an eternal hope. Think about it . . . even if you or your loved one survive cancer, you still will die someday. I know people who have survived cancer only to be cut down suddenly by heart attacks, and I know family members of cancer patients who unexpectedly passed away while the patients unexpectedly survived their cancer. No matter how many times we get healed on this earth, one day the healing will cease here. And that’s why we all need an eternal hope. You see, we all have the same terminal sickness. It’s congenital because we’re all born with it. The symptoms aren’t always obvious, but they appear throughout life in the bad things we say and do, and in the good things we fail to say and do. The Bible explains this worldwide epidemic in Romans 3:23: “Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” And the end result of sin is clearly spelled out in Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death.” So sin is the diagnosis for all of us, and terminal is the prognosis for everyone. Don’t be fooled into thinking you don’t have it. Just like cancer, it’s a very sneaky condition, and you can look perfectly fine on the outside while you’re dying on the inside. But I have good news—there is a cure. It’s extremely expensive, but the entire cost has been paid up front for us. God paid a ransom to save you. . . . It was the precious blood of Christ. 1 Peter 1:18-19 If you’ve never experienced the cure for your sin sickness, you can right now. You must agree with God’s diagnosis that you are a sinner and desire to get a new prognosis by accepting His gift of eternal life. If you do, Jesus will forgive your sins, lead your life, and one day take you to your real home in Heaven. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. . . . I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:3, 6, NIV I hope and pray that you and your loved ones live long, healthy, happy lives and that cancer soon becomes a distant memory. But while that prayer is sincere, it also is a shortsighted prayer. I don’t just care about what happens to your bodies and minds here on earth, but I care about what happens to your souls after you leave this earth. And that’s why I pray that you and your loved ones have an eternal hope—an ultimate hope—a hope that transcends all other hopes. We wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us. Titus 2:13-14, NIV This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. Hebrews 6:19 I have had that blessed hope since I put my trust in Jesus in 1972 while a student at the Ohio State University. That is why after my diagnosis, I knew where I was going to spend eternity if I was to die from cancer (or anything else). I knew life was not being fair to me, but God would be. He had provided a way for me to get to Heaven—where Scripture promises no more tears, no more sickness, and no more dying (Revelation 21:4). I was not getting shortchanged if I died young, because this life is not all there is. Now that made sense . . . and gave me hope. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Psalm 39:7 Dear God, my prayer today is that each person reading this is looking to You not just for earthly hopes, but for an eternal hope. May each one trust in You for the forgiveness of sins and accept Your free gift of everlasting life. Thank You for the blessed hope that Jesus will come back one day and take each of us believers home. I pray in His name. Amen.
