Rats & Hope
Jaja wrote a great devotion on the 14th of June called, ‘Hope That Doesn’t Disappoint.’ When I was reflecting what topic to focus on this week Hope kept coming back to mind. I believe if there has ever been a time we need Hope, it’s now. Proverbs reminds us that:
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12
This clearly warns us that if our Hope is not fulfilled over a long period of time it can be detrimental to us. The real question here is, ‘What are you hoping for?’ The danger is if you are hoping in the wrong things there’s a real possibility you are going to be disappointed.
The power of Hope was further reinforced to me when I was reminded of a famous experiment carried out by Johns Hopkins professor Curt Richter. In the 1950’s he took some rats and dropped them in a large jar of water. After swimming around for 2 minutes they gave up and drowned. He then tweaked the experiment and just before they were expected to die, however, he picked them up, held them a little while, and then put them back in the water. “In this way,” he wrote, “the rats quickly learn that the situation is not actually hopeless.”
This small interlude made a huge difference. The rats that experienced a brief reprieve swam much longer. They also recovered almost immediately. When the rats learned that they were not doomed, that the situation was not lost, that there might be a helping hand at the ready—in short, when they had a reason to keep swimming—they did. They did not give up and swam on for days.
“After elimination of hopelessness,” wrote Richter, “the rats do not die.”
I have noticed that the current crisis has certainly tested what we Hope in. When I start to lose Hope I realise I am often focusing on the wrong things and Hoping in things that will not last. Paul reminds us in chapter 1 of Ephesians where we should put our Hope.
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
1 Ephesians 15 - 19 | NIC
Paul wrote this letter from a different location wanting to encourage them in their faith. He knew them personally and he had a lot emotionally invested in them and wanted the very best for them. If Paul was wanting the best for them, then God, in his sovereignty, initiating Paul to write the scripture, wants the best for you and I.
Paul helps us in this passage to grasp the victory that Jesus has won for us. This passage is all about us learning to live in the good of what Jesus has already done for us. The good news is Paul is not telling us to do anything more. He's not encouraging us to come up with an action list or a plan that we have to add to.
To illustrate this point there is a great story about a multi millionaire, William Randolf Hurst. He was one of the first media tycoons in the States and built up a huge media and publishing empire that had made him rich. However, his overriding passion / hobby was collecting renaissance art. The story goes that he was missing one painting from a particular artist.
He had been scouring around looking for this artist’s painting to buy it no matter what the price. However, he couldn’t find the final one so he enlisted the help of a buying agent. This man was asked to go around all the auction houses and private collectors and try to find and buy this last painting on behalf of William Randolf Hurst. After many months the agent finally comes back to him and said:
“Mr. Hurst I have got some good news and bad news for you. The good news is that I have managed to track down the missing painting. The bad news is that I discovered it’s already in your art warehouse. In other words you own it already. You have got so much money and so many paintings that you didn’t realise you had in your posession the very thing you were having me search for.”
Just like William Randolf Hurst, Paul wanted these people to realise what is already available to them. The good news of Paul’s prayer for us believers is not that we have to muster up more energy for something new or to try harder. Do you realise that you have everything you already need in Jesus? He doesn’t want you to do more. He wants us to understand who we already are. He wants us to really know the victory Jesus has already won.
In verse 18 Paul goes on to highlight the ‘Hope to which he has called you.’ When the Bible uses the word Hope it means something different to what we often mean. When it says Hope it means a certain promise. Something you can take to the bank and you can stake your life on.
When we use the word Hope we sometimes take it to mean wishful thinking. Like, ‘I Hope Kampala has no traffic today.’ Or, ‘I Hope Uganda will win the world cup.’ Or, ‘I Hope this devotion isn’t too much longer!?’
All of those are futile and meaningless wishes. They are not going to happen. You can’t bank your life on that.
However, when the Bible talks about Hope it is talking about a certain promise that will be fulfilled. Something that you can base your life around. So Paul is saying I want you to be certain of this.
The Hope he wants them to be certain of is that they are called. This is a reference to their initial salvation. The moment they became Christians. It links to Romans chapter 8 that says those he predestined he also called.
So put the two together so that you will be certain of something and that you know you are called.
Paul is saying I want you to get this. When God gets a hold of us, it’s permanent.We never get so mature that we stop needing to get strength from the fact that we have been called by God and he never lets go of his children.
Ultimately when push comes to shove my faith doesn’t hinge on my ability to grasp hold of God, but rather it hinges on God’s ability to grasp hold of me. Put another way, His grip on you is stronger than your grip on him.
I don’t know where you are right now in your journey with God. Maybe you are close or feel a million miles away. The reality is he clings onto you when the storms of life are washing over you. God’s got hold you. Paul says I want you to know that in the core of your being.
Why does he want us to know that?
He want’s us to know that so we can have confidence and so we can be sure that we are loved and accepted. Because, once we have got that in the core of our being then it changes everything.
It changes the whole way we look on life. It changes the whole way we live out our lives. We then move from a place of fear and insecurity to a place of acceptance and peace and confidence. That means we can just begin to enjoy this adventure that God has us on no matter what is happening in the world. Covid 19 or no Covid 19.
So put your Hope in Him, know you have the riches of heaven available and walk in power through Christ.
As one Christian writer once wrote: ‘There is no problem too big that God can't fix it. There is no sin so bad that God can't forgive it. There is no pit so deep that can't find you. There is no debt so huge that God can't fund it. There is no person so evil that God can't transform them. There is no person so sick that God can't heal them. There is no mind so broken that God can't restore them. There is no...well you get the idea...He specializes in the impossible!’ (Kris Vallotton)
Questions:
Have you lost Hope recently?
Ask yourself what are you putting your Hope in?
Do you know you are called?
How can you apply Ephesians 1:15-19 in your life this week?
