My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

ON HOPE

The Divine Scripture has much to say about the necessity and significance of hope. First, they tell us why we should always hope in our Loving and Merciful God:

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (St. John 16:33).
"For God so loved the world that He gave His Only-Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (St. John 3:16-17).
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:28).
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35, 38-39).
"But I do not want you to be ignorant, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

In other words, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what happens to us, we hope that God will bring good our of evil, granting life in death. Furthermore, no person can live without hope.

Hopelessness is faithlessness. We must never despair. There are no hopeless situations in life, there are only people who have grown cold and hopeless. Have we ever felt hopeless in the depths of fear and despair? It could be because we live as if God were dead, despite our claim to be Christians. In order to be sure of our faith, we must examine our thoughts, words, and actions to see if we indeed hope in the Almighty God.

It is possible that we do hope but unfortunately it is a false hope. Humanity puts a lot of trust in different false hopes, i.e., progress, science, political systems, education, banks, business, and government. All of these are created by us to serve our earthly needs, however, all of them are secular substitutes for God and His Kingdom. They consistently disappoint us and because of it, they create greater hopelessness than ever before.

The Apostle of all Nations, Saint Paul, writes to the Romans, "For in this hope we are saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience" (8:24-25).

"Hope is the assurance of the good outcome of our lives lived by faith in God. Hope is the power of certain conviction that the life built on faith will produce its fruits. Hope is the confidence that, despite all darkness and sin, the Light of the loving forgiveness of God is upon us to do with us and for us what we ourselves cannot do."

"Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and shield. Yea our hearts are glad in Him because we trust in His Holy Name. Let Thy steadfast love, O Lord be upon us, even as we hope in Thee" (Psalm 33:2022).

At times of danger and uncertainty, the faithful and believing person remains steadfast in his or her faith. Despondency is evil and deadly. Saint Isaac the Syrian writes: "...the force of despondence...overwhelms him and oppresses his soul; and this is a taste of hell because it produces a thousand temptations: confusion, irritation, protesting and bewailing one's lot, wrong thoughts, wandering from place to place, and so on".

Evagrius of Pontus, 4th century, writes: "The demon of despondency, which is called the "noonday demon" (Psalm 91:6) is more grievous than all others...It arouses in him vexation against the place and mode of life itself and his work, adding that there is no more love among the brethren, and no one to comfort him…Then it provokes in him a longing for other places..."

"The only remedy for despair is humility and patience, the steadfast holding to the life of faith, event without conviction or feeling. It is no virtue to feel weak and helpless in the presence of evil. It is no virtue to consider oneself totally at the mercy of evil and sin. It is a virtue rather to be always "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" knowing and believing that the final victory is God's" (Romans 12:12).

Trust and hope in Jesus Christ, our Lord, Protector, and Savior!

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"-Saint John Chrysostom

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With sincere agape and hope in God's love for us,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George