Luke is with the Apostle Paul on that dangerous voyage to Rome! Notice his use of the pronoun “we.”
“And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” Acts 27:18-20
In the midst of a storm, a cyclone it looks like. Unable to navigate, to guide the ship. (A sailing vessel, remember.) The situation is so dire that even the ship’s owner (who is on board, verse 11) feels the need to throw the cargo overboard! Day after day comes and goes, still no relief!
Then comes today’s Lesson, this morning’s thought … “All hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” Verse 20
Now that is a dangerous situation!
The noun “hope” appears 129 times in the King James Version of the Bible. From Ruth 1:12 to 1st John 3:3.
Naomi, King David’s distant Grandmother, once lost hope! (Her childbearing years being well behind her.)
And Job, that great Old Testament Patriarch, in the midst of his sufferings, lost hope! “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.” Job 7:6
Not counting dear Paul and his fellow-travelers that stormy day! Again, “All hope was taken away.”
So I’ve quickly given three Scriptural examples … to which could be added innumerable other instances in the post-Biblical world.
Hope … gone!
But Hallelujah, for the Christian (spiritually speaking) there is ALWAYS hope!
In fact, Jesus our Saviour never lost hope! Isaiah 42:4 prophesied of Him … “He shall not fail nor be discouraged.” Never be without hope!
Even on the Old Rugged Cross, our Lord kept hope alive! Hebrews 12:2 assures us that He somehow maintained “joy set before Him!” What a Saviour!
Because of Him, we have hope too …
The “Blessed Hope” particularly coming to mind this instant … “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13
Our very faith consists of hope, God given hope! “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
And even when we face personal crises, which we will, hope stays strong for the Believer! “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast.” Hebrews 6:19a
How about this for hope? “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3
Jesus now … “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7
Hope, what a blessing!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell
Enjoy some today …
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