God With Us Brings Hope Series

One of the things I hate to do is go to the Dentist. When I was growing up I had some very traumatic experiences with dentists. Since moving to Brampton, I have been going to Doctor Neville – who is also the chair of our Board of Elders. I have had 2 root canals in the past few years which are very painful. You sit in the chair and you are in pain and you have no idea of what is happening, but you trust the one who is working on you, and in the end everything is OK.

3. Hope is Based on God’s Witness

The third way we can find and choose hope is by focusing on our personal experience or witness of God’s faithfulness. How has God worked in your life? What are those moments and memories when you have experienced God’s help in the past? Maybe it was this week. Maybe it was years ago. Either way, it was a time in your life when you knew without any doubt that the presence of God’s Spirit was with you. Gratitude breeds hope. Thankfulness fosters hope. Acknowledgment and appreciation bring hope. Listen to these words from Jeremiah found in Lamentations;

Lam 3:21-23 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Jeremiah understood that there is hope in the future when we remember what God has done in the past. He knew that hope sparks like a fire. It flows like water. It grows like a seed. Hope grows and spreads like a living thing. It can also dwindle and wane and, yes, even die. But with nurture and care, it can revive and flourish and multiply.

Focusing on gratitude can renew and grow our hope. Recognizing and appreciating the good that God has shown us in the past can increase our hope for all He will do in the future. Sharing this gratitude and hope with those who love and support us can multiply its effects. As we nurture this living hope, it can sustain us through our darkest days as we wait for God to move.

Today is the 79th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. What many people do not know is that the day after Pearl Harbor (Dec 7 1941) came the bombing of the Philippines. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was the commander of the American forces stationed there. When the Philippines was attacked there was no way that the American and Filipino forces could win. President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to escape to Australia to organize the American war effort from there. MacArthur loved the Filipino people, and he wanted to stay and fight with them. However, he obeyed his orders. He escaped in a submarine through enemy controlled water and made it safe to Australia. At that time he got on the radio and sent a message of hope to the Philippine resistance movement: “I came through, and I shall return.” The people were strengthened by MacArthur’s promise. They knew that MacArthur loved them and that he would not abandon them. When life became nearly impossible during the occupation, they whispered to each other: “MacArthur will come back! MacArthur will return.” On Oct 20, 1944, Gen. MacArthur kept his promise. American forces landed on Philippine soil and began the fight to free them. MacArthur stood on that beach that day and uttered his most famous quote, “To the people of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil.”