“Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” Psalm
130:7, NIV
I
will always remember the phone call I got at work that day. It was my husband,
and his tone was more serious than normal. He was calling with bad news. Someone
close to me had died – from suicide. I was shocked – I never would have
imagined this person choosing to end it all. Why? We learned more in the days that
followed, and when we had sifted through all of the details, one fact remained.
His circumstances had gotten to the point where he didn’t believe they would
change, and he couldn’t imagine life going on “as is.” He had lost hope.
It
has been said that humans can live for about 40 days without food, about three
days without water, and about eight minutes without air – but not even a second
without hope. While I’m not sure about the technical truth of that sentiment,
it does express the vital importance of hope in our lives.
Hope.
We hear the word so often that
