Hope in the Hard Times

“God with us.” Matt. 1:23, reveals hope to a dark and lost world. It had been 400 years since God has spoken to anyone on earth. Suddenly he speaks to two young Jewish kids that are planning on a marriage in the future. But suddenly angels come to Mary and Joseph with news that will change their lives and change the hope of the world. God is coming in the flesh to bring hope of salvation and grace. But even in the church, with the attacks of Satan and his demons upon our lives, we are struggling to maintain the hope that “God with us” truly means. Let’s pray that we can stay afloat just a little longer or encourage your loved one that they can make just one more minute, one more hour, one more day. With hope that is promised through Jesus coming to this world we can make it. I read many years ago about research that was done to see the effect hope has on those going through hard times. They took two groups of laboratory rats and placed them in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the tub of water and found out that within the hour they had all drowned. But with the other set of rats, every few minutes they would lift one of the rats out of the water, let it rest for just a few seconds and then place it back in the water to swim for its life. When they did this, they found that the rats swam for another 24 hours before they ended the experiment. Why? What happened to the second group of rats? They found that it was not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope! Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them. If hope holds such power for unthinking rodents, how much greater should its effect be on our lives. Hope is what will give us the strength and stamina to carry on with life and Jesus Christ came to be with us, in us to give us hope. Let’s pray that we can see and believe that Jesus is in us and he is bringing us hope no matter what the circumstances are that we are facing.