Hope

“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.  And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!                                                                                                     Job 19:25-27 NLT

Walter Lord wrote a book entitled The Good Years 1900-1914 in which he detailed the arrogant assurance of the Western world as it entered the new century. They were certain that “We can do it,” whatever “it” might happen to be. That arrogance, and its folly, is perfectly represented in the building and the sinking of the “Titanic” in April, 1912.

How very different that is from the disillusionment and despair that characterizes Western thought in these early years of the twenty-first century. Two world wars and a forty-year-long cold war have left us with the feeling that nothing works out the way we planned it and that tomorrow will be worse than today.

In many ways we can see these two attitudes displayed in the book of Job. On the one hand, the “comforters” are proudly confident that they have figured out how life works and that if one conforms to the patterns they have discerned all will be well. On the other hand, there is Job’s despair because he has conformed to those patterns and things have definitely not turned out well.

So what is the answer? How can we live life with fortitude, courage, kindness, and a positive outlook, and not succumb to the rage and despair that surrounds us? It is found in the blaze of light that breaks through in Job 19:25-27. It is HOPE. We have a Redeemer who will deliver us even should our best efforts fail, so give it your best. We have the promise that death and decay is not the end, but that in our bodies we will see God, so don’t be afraid to risk. Can we live with confidence? Oh, yes. But that confidence, that hope, is not in ourselves, or in our certainty that we have the answers to all of life’s questions. No, it is in our redeeming, resurrected Lord Jesus. Praise his name, and live life to the full.