The Ultimate Hope - The One Year Love Talk Devotional for Couples
The Ultimate Hope
Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
Jeremiah 17:7
Any student of British history knows what happened on this date in 1940. After the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill became prime minister of the United Kingdom and eventually led Britain to victory during World War II. Few historical figures in the modern world have had more influence than Churchill.
On a trip to England a few years ago, we had the opportunity to tour his historic home in Chartwell, where he lived for more than forty years. In the exhibit room were incredible displays of uniforms and mementos as well as sound recordings of his speeches. We walked through his painting studio where he surely found a soothing escape from the oppressive weight of leadership in such trying times. We enjoyed Lady Churchill’s rose garden and the lush landscape.
But one of the most memorable moments of our tour was a display of some of Churchill’s sayings where we were drawn to an interaction he had with a foreign reporter who asked him about the greatest weapon his country possessed against the Nazi regime of Hitler. Without pausing for even a moment, Churchill said, “It was what England’s greatest weapon has always been—hope.”
Hope, one of the most powerful, energizing words in the English language, refers to a power that keeps us going in tough times, that energizes us with excitement and anticipation as we look to the future. It’s been said that a person can live forty days without food, four days without water, four minutes without air, but only four seconds without hope.
David wrote music during turbulent times, which we know as psalms, and it seems that hope runs through them like a ribbon. Consider just a few of his verses:
The LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. (Psalm 33:18)
Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. (39:7)
O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O LORD, from childhood. (71:5)
I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word. (119:81)
Notice that David’s hope is in the Lord and his love—in God’s saving grace. Why? Because this is the source of ultimate hope, and it forever sustains us. That’s why we can say, as Churchill would, “Never give up.”
Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.
—Winston Churchill
The One Year Love Talk Devotional for Couples
By Dr. Les Parrott and Dr. Leslie Parrott
Tyndale
$7.99
