Not a Forlorn Hope
Isaiah 40:31:
But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
How is your ‘hope in the Lord?’ Is it renewing your strength? Do you feel like you’re soaring? Or has your hope in the Lord become hopeless; forlorn?
In his book "Waterloo," Gordon Corrigan describes a particular kind of military mission called the “forlorn hope.” In sieges throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, an attacking army would pound the besieged city’s walls with enormous siege cannons. Once the wall was breached, a small group of handpicked soldiers, called a forlorn hope, would charge into the breach and attempt to hold the enemy off long enough for their army to charge through the rubble and take the city. Being the leader of a forlorn hope was one of the few ways a poor but bright young officer could advance through the ranks. But forlorn hopes were just that: they were hopeless. As the name suggests, these men on a mission were usually overwhelmed by the city’s defenders and most died.
Do you ever feel like the mission before you is impossible?
As Christians, our hope is not forlorn. Our hope is not hopeless. Our hope succeeds because Jesus stands in the breach. We don’t have to fight the enemy. Jesus did it for us. On the cross. He conquered sin and death. Many people must have thought that Jesus’ mission was forlorn; hopeless. He died the death of a criminal. He never sat on an earthly throne in a palace. He never even owned a home. But his mission on the cross brought everlasting hope to you and me.
No matter what you face today, hope in the Lord. He is with you through every trial on this earth. And one day, you will be with him in heaven. That’s hope you can count on. He died for you. Of course he’ll see you through the day. And the week. And the months and years ahead. Knowing that you can hope in the Lord should renew your strength for whatever you face today.
(Special thanks to my co-author for this post, Jack Batten)