HOPE IN A HOPELESS WORLD

“Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).

          Fear defers hope. “God has not given us the spirit of fear” (2 Timothy 1:7). Not only is fear the opposite of hope, but also, it destroys hope!

          America has been deteriorating the past few decades in the home, church, and government to the extent that traditional Christian America is being replaced by an America that opposes Christianity and free enterprise, thus making Christians’ and Patriots’ hearts sick with fear for the future. This deterioration includes falling morals and a decreasing white cultural-bearing population with an increasing non-White population. These events have led to a loss of hope, vision, and depression, all of which have been magnified by the past two elections of the Socialist/Communist Obama and his Bolshevik oriented, high-level Democratic buddies with Republican Old-Guard blessing. Truly, this is a time to try men’s souls, but not the first time in history. This is our cross to bear. All generations have had a cross to bear of some sort, some more serious than ours. For example, consider wars and the consequent tough times that Americans faced in the battle theatres of America’s Second War for Independence (1861-1865) and Europeans faced during the First and Second World Wars, when Europe was a battlefield. Christian Americans and the Caucasian race in general are not at all the first in history to face challenges, disappointments, and threats to life. Remember what Attila brought to Europeans in his invasion across Western Europe. The time has arrived for Patriots and Christians to have an overcoming mind, just as former Americans and Europeans had and Scripture encourages (Revelation 2:7, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). We must not suppress hope, which is exactly what the enemies of God and country want us to do. Let us take a look at hope. A loss of hope implies a loss of fight, likely driven by fear. This leaves the battlefield to the enemy. This is neither Christian nor the American way. Hope is a key to being an over-comer. The Apostles never gave up the conquest for men’s souls in spite of opposition from the Edomite Jews and Roman authorities.

          Hope is the engine of today to get tomorrow. Without hope, there is no constructive thinking. Life is narrow, unfulfilled, and depressed. Life lacks purpose and meaning when there is no hope for tomorrow. Hope is about future expectations and confidence that what is hoped for will occur. Without a hope for the future, depression will surely result. What is depression, other than the reduction of emotional energy resulting from worry and concentrating on the negatives of life? In America today, the historic hope that Americans had in their freedom to speak, worship, and defend themselves is on the slide. The idea that the Federal and state governments shared our same hopes, dreams, and goals is quickly slipping away. But hope for dominion must not waver with the loss of these historic blessings; rather, we should become engaged in the effort to stand for what is right.

          Let us look at hope in a historical sense to reinforce its value. When we lose hope, we gain nothing, and our goals are unfulfilled.

          In 1492 when he was sailing for Spain, Christopher Columbus did not make it to the East Indies as he had hoped. Because he did not know there was no sea-lane going west to reach the East Indies, he ended up entirely somewhere different from where he intended. He had all the hope necessary to make the voyage and return to Spain safely. If he had not had the hope, he would not have sailed. He would not have spent years trying to convince a country to fund the trip. Spain finally did join in his hope and support his journey. Every seaman leaves port with the full confidence he will meet the hazards of sea, overcome, and return home. Columbus’s landing in the Caribbean short of his goal was not a loss. A greater unforeseen event occurred—something that was a tremendous blessing for all White Americans. Columbus’s journey opened the Americas to permanent European settlements. This brought blessings to him as well as those he represented. In contrast, the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Diaz, not lacking hope himself, had a crew that fell short along the way in fulfilling the assignment to find a sea path to India by sailing around the African Cape of Good Hope. In 1488, his expedition took off, and he eventually rounded the Cape. Upon landing in East Africa past the Cape, his crew, obviously fearful, would sail no further. This caused him to turn back—against his desires. The crew’s loss of hope caused Diaz to end his voyage find India by sea. This is a practical example of the importance of hope. With the loss of this vision, a noble, attainable goal remained unaccomplished. Fear suppressed hope. Christians and good Americans cannot allow fear to replace hope. Let the Bible instruct: “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Hope Renewed

Just nine years later in 1497, another Portuguese explorer, Vasco Da Gama, landed his expedition in India, thus fulfilling his hope to reach India by sea. Nothing had changed in the physical world between Diaz’s setting sail and Da Gama reaching India. Da Gama’s crew maintained their hope, but the Diaz expedition lost theirs. Motivation is everything.

          When the Virginia Company of London decided to plant a colony in Virginia, they funded three ships (the Discovery, Godspeed, and Susan Constant) to set sail for that purpose. The names of two of the three ships confirm the hope they had in a successful voyage and colony: Godspeed (to seek God’s favor) and Discovery (to make it there and back). In 1607, they landed in Virginia and established Jamestown. Did the investors and those who set sail have hope for success? You bet they did. Soon after to follow them to America were the Pilgrims, who landed at Cape Cod in the fall of 1620, and later the Puritans. The hope of the Pilgrims was immoveable. Fear did not replace hope. In addition to about thirty crewmen, 102 Pilgrims crowded onto the Mayflower at Plymouth, England, and lived under horribly crowded conditions for their voyage. But, they set sail anyway on the Mayflower, a ship about 100-feet long. Having been on the replica of the Mayflower docked at Plymouth, Massachusetts, this author can report that it took hearts filled with hope beyond measure to sail sixty-five days across the Atlantic Ocean in that thing. What courage, dedication, and hope they had! After they landed and winter began, the story that unfolded is well known. They incurred forty-five deaths amidst much suffering that first winter. Upon the Mayflower returning to England in the spring, the captain offered to take back anyone who so desired free of charge. None returned. Their hope continued to be in God, that He would bless them in America and its wilderness for a future of religious freedom if they stayed and endured. From their unwavering hope and their love of freedom and dominion, America got the Christian beginning needed to birth the greatest nation on earth. This nation has since blessed the whole world through her inventions and upgraded living habits.

          The Pilgrims’ hope was in the opportunity for religious freedom. Americans need to find hope in a cause worth dying for, as the Pilgrims did. Patriot Christians believe in a cause worth dying for. Work for a cause worth dying for. That is what the Apostles did. They did not give up when the going got tough. They knew there would be a better future in the kingdom to come. They lived for Christ—regardless of the circumstances. That is what Christians need to do in this dark hour of rising Socialism/Communism, unscriptural church doctrines and practices, and increasing immorality.

          We shall fast forward to the American War for Independence, beginning in 1775. The Patriots were not a large group, but they had vision and hope for a better future: they wanted to remain independent of England, which the Prohibitory Act of late 1775 set in motion. But to do so, they would need to fight England, put legs on their hope, and even be willing to die for the cause. The Tories did not have this confidence, but the Patriots did. This Act, passed by the British Parliament, put the colonies outside the protection of the king of England, which the colonies believed, under international law, separated them from England, thus making them free to govern themselves. So, did Washington and his small army fight without hope? I do not think so, because he and they never gave up, regardless of the defeats and the retreats they had to make. They were over-comers fighting for a cause bigger than themselves. Their hope that victory would bring freedom was a fire that did not go out in Washington, in spite of unfortunate circumstances, such as Benedict Arnold changing sides, having few soldiers, having limited funds, experiencing few victories, the tremendous difficulties at Valley Forge, and extremely scarce food. Washington endured. His army endured. The Patriots endured. Their hope was rewarded. Their goal was noble.

          It is critical for us to retain hope when circumstances are truly bad. To lose hope is simply to lose. Hope can easily erode when the mind concentrates on the negatives occurring in America, even rapidly, under the Socialist, Communist, anti-American administration of Obama, complete with the support of Congress and some Federal and state courts. Compared to former years, America is in a declining mess. But our minds cannot go there. We cannot become an Elijah who fretted and wanted death; he gave up because Jezebel sought his death after he called fire down from heaven, thus destroying her Baal priests. He later learned he was not alone in standing for righteousness. So you see, do not give up, even though there is nothing practical that any individual can directly do to change Washington City. We can pray for America. Through prayer, put America in God’s hands and remove her emotionally from your hands. When folks become fearful of the future, hope is on the way out. Fear will not improve the situation. Fear will not help to meet each day with the confidence that God is not sleeping. Fear detracts from proper responses, and this does not allow clear thinking to guide us each day. Fear is an emotional response when a “sound mind” is needed. Prayer is the response of a sound mind. Do you remember the prayer revolution in Leipzig, Germany, in 1989? Let us review that history.

On 8 October, 8,000 people gathered at an 800-year old church in Leipzig, Germany, with many having to stay outside. They prayed for their freedom from Communism. The crowd grew to between 70,000 and 100,000 people demonstrating for their freedom. Communism fell in Germany in October of 1989. But it all began about twelve years earlier when a smaller number of Christians (even less than twelve met at the church weekly, praying for their freedom. They put their hope in God, the source of all freedom. Do not lose hope in God. Instead, apply the spiritual tool of prayer. This is a Christian duty.

          It would help to remember that Christians are first servants of God. We are to plant and water, but God is responsible for the increase, or to bless the effort (1 Corinthians 3:6). This leads to another thought. In addition to prayer, get involved in a physical or temporal way to plant and water something that would war against the tide that is unfolding in America. Get involved in some way based upon your financial ability, time, and talent per Ezekiel 22:30: “And I sought for a man among them that should make up a the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Who will be that man, those Christians, for today? Why not everyone? Of course, some are limited in these areas; but that is when you can pray. Identify specific prayer targets and pray them as your single focus. Pray specifically for those who are on the front line in the cause of freedom, Christianity, and morality. For example, Randall Terry is on the front line to make abortion illegal again. Pray for this ministry and follow it. Keep in touch with exactly what the ministry is doing and the results they are gaining. This will bring encouragement.

          Christians need to have a life of spiritual strength first with temporal/dominion action to follow (Genesis 1:28). We are engaged in a spiritual warfare in a physical world. That is what the Pilgrims understood. That is what the Apostles and early Christians understood. As the hope of eternity is in the Lord Jesus Christ, so all hope comes from God in some way. He is the source of all possibility and blessing (Deuteronomy 8:18) for dominion action. The truth is, America is under God’s judgment for her sins and iniquities. Our sorrows are the result of God’s need to remove blessings because America has broken covenant with Him. We must suffer, as did the houses of Israel and Judah in the Bible. America is now in a “punishment” captivity, not unlike the Babylonian captivity. In Jeremiah’s instruction to the Israelites, he encouraged them to continue living as normally as possible, not to fear or be depressed. He encouraged them to marry, build houses, and seek the peace of the city: “and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace” (Jeremiah 29:7). This takes us back to prayer as an important tool to bring and maintain hope. Become a prayer warrior. Seeking peace of the city means pray for the righteousness of the city.

          Thinking of dominion, may this example be of helpful. It is my belief that the greatest blessing comes from being in the game, compared to watching the game. The body benefits from the activity of the game, but merely watching a game gains no bodily benefit. Being in the game also helps build mental quickness and mold character. Sitting in the stands will not do this. The game of life before Christian and Patriotic Americans is resisting the evil and replacing it with righteousness. This will bring an active mind and body into play, both of which will count well in the presence of God when we stand before Him on Judgment Day. Doing nothing but worrying and complaining only brings depression and does nothing to engage the enemy.

          Let Alexander Solzhenitsyn speak to standing in the gap, keeping hope alive, and having courage:

          “The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the falsehood. One word of truth outweighs the world.

          "Truth seldom is pleasant; it is almost invariably bitter. A loss of courage may be the most striking feature which an outside observer notices in the West in our days...Such a decline in courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling groups and the intellectual elite, causing an impression of loss of courage by the entire society. Of course, there are many courageous individuals, but they have no determining influence on public life."

Consider this verse that supports our staying focused on the LORD God for hope: “GOD is our refuse and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with swelling there of. Selah.” (Psalm 46:1).

Would St. Paul be a good source to encourage hope when fear would be easy? Yes. Edomite Jews tried to kill him. Romans arrested him. Read Romans 8:17-39 for encouragement. Two verses from this passage are included here, but I would advise that you read the entire passage: “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for it? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it” (Romans 8:24- 25).

Diaz, Da Gama, Columbas, Pilgrims, and George Washington did not see that which they hoped for. They could visualize in their minds, but not with their eyes. Their hope was genuine. Those who were patient gained the hope sought or even something better, as with Columbus’s venture. Those who lose hope and fear, like Diaz’s crew, will not see their India. Remember that another sea captain and crew who did not lost hope realized Diaz’s goal. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Know the Bible. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13).

Paul also offers this advice: be content, regardless of the circumstances. This is hard to do, but it is necessary for the good people concerned with America. “For I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11). Maintain the knowledge that God is not sleeping and that the end of the Christian is eternal life. This will bring contentment. St. Paul also wrote as encouragement to not lose hope when times are tough: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). Finally, Paul gave another attitude for the heart: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). This may need oft repeating, but it is worth doing so, especially in any time of disappointment or loss, such as with the death of a loved one. Emotional sadness will come. It is natural to need a time of recovery from those things that do not work out the way we planned and hoped. But know this: those emotions will wane in time so life can refocus back to the tasks that lie before a Christian.

Patriotic Christian Americans need to move on from Obama’s re-election and the state into which he and others have driven our country. Yes, he and others have created quite a mess. But we need to be engaged in repentance, the Lord’s work, and taking dominion. Remember this: “We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope” (Romans 5:4). And, when our hopes and expectations are placed in the Lord, He will bring them to pass: “Be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cutoff” (Proverbs 23:18). Christians need to keep their eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ as they meet the enemy at the gate by watering, planting, and standing in the gap, as God would direct. A reversal of our current conditions is not likely. Do not conclude from this article that it will reverse. Rather, have hope in God’s future and protection. Become engaged in the proceedings around you. Do not give up. Engaging is our duty. God may do something unforeseen, as happened with Elijah when God revealed to him there were 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal. Regardless, serving God and knowing each Christian is doing his best—these are the best medicine to restore hope in a hopeless world.