The blessed hope

Trusting in Christ’s soon return and our ultimate victory is what will sustain us in these days of disillusionment with some of our national leaders, the devaluing of our money, and the devastation of wars being fought on various continents at the same time. And don’t let some television talk show host play on your fears in order to promote his or her ratings. Jesus said, “Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42 NIV). In other words, “Be alert, but don’t be afraid.” Admiral James Stockdale spent eight gruelling years in a Vietnam prisoner-of-war camp. What sustained him? He said, “I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.” When asked, “Who didn’t make it out?” Stockdale replied, “Oh, that’s easy…they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.” The courage needed to stand between the two extremes of current trouble and ultimate triumph is found in these words of scripture: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV). The One who gave you your start has guaranteed you a glorious finish.