Prisoners of Hope

12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. Zechariah 9:12 English Standard Version

This world is a dark and often menacing place. As I tap this out on my computer the trees outside my window toss and sway in wind gusts that reach up to fifty miles an hour. In the Texas Panhandle winds were so fierce that they toppled tractor-trailers spewing cargo across the highway creating multi-car accidents. No matter your political leanings, the current governmental landscape is one of chaos and unrest. Sickness often stalks our families wresting loved ones away. I could go on at great length about the various challenges that wash up on the shores of this life. But that is not how God wants us to think. Consider these words of Jesus.

33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Here, Jesus reminds us that we will face problems, but we should be encouraged by the fact that He has already won. You and I have placed our hope in something much greater than anything this world has to offer. I love the words of the old prophet, “prisoners of hope.” We’re captives, but not of despair and hurt. We are captives of God’s hope! Think on that.

How many people do we see who place their hope on the transitory, weak, and illusory things of this world. The stock market rises and falls. One minute, my portfolio is bulging with success and the next it is not worth the paper it is printed on. Scams abound. A confidence man worms his way into my heart and soon my nest-egg is gone. Someone steals my card number and my bank account evaporates and there is not much I can do about it, and this is just flimsy financial issues.

I live in the mountains of New Mexico. We enjoy the crisp air, cobalt blue skies, and towering fir trees. Yet, every summer a portion of the mountains burn. My house might go up in flames. If I’ve placed my happiness and joy in our home, desperation and despair is my lot. God calls me to something else.

19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, Hebrews 6:19

He calls us to stability. I look around and I see chaos. I see storms tossing. All the things that I placed my trust in crumble into dust. That promotion I was counting on…gone. The cool car or truck that I liked so much…broken down and not running. My good friend of long years…turned their back on me when I needed them most. All these things that promise stability and joy, fail me in the end. But God.

But God is a sure and steadfast anchor for my soul. I remain locked away and secure in His prison of hope. I do not lose heart. I simply look over and see an empty grave and hope springs up within my heart. I place my hope in Him who does not fail. 

3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

Here, Paul reminds us that all those things we go through help produce hope, and hope does not fail us. All of those things, those ephemeral transitory things of this world will fail me. All of them. Even my own self, physical and mental, will fail. Sometimes I just do the wrong thing. I know when I do it that it is wrong. But I have hope. I look in the mirror and see that my outer shell, this earth-suit as some like to say, is wasting away, and there is nothing I can do about it. Good diet, drugs, and exercise will not stay the hand of advancing years. The hands of time inexorably swing forward, not backward. But I have hope, hope in the one who created time and rules it.

So, I am a prisoner, not of wealth and things, not of physical wellness, not of political systems. I am a prisoner of hope. A hope strong and sure. A hope in the one who loves and saves.

Thought Questions:

1. What images come to your mind when you read the words, “Prisoners of Hope?”

2. What provides stability in your life?

3. What causes instability in your life?

4. What do you hope for in your future?

5. What do you do when you find your hope faltering?