Whether it be in response to our own physical or mental health or that of our spouse or children, none of us wants to ever hear the words, “There is nothing more we can do. There is little hope for recovery.” To feel a sense of hopelessness is most likely the most difficult sense we can experience. I believe we can survive most any difficult experience if we can sense that purpose and hope is somewhere near and within our grasp. It has often been correctly said that “Hope enables us to cope.”
In his book, When Love Gets Tough, Doug Manning talks about a lady who shared her experience of aging with these words, “The toughest part of aging is living without goals. All my life I was looking forward to something. First, it was getting out of college, then marriage, then a new home, then a family, then the marriage of my children, then the empty nest and time to travel with Bob. But now Bob is gone, I am retired, and all I can do is look back. There is nothing to look toward except the day I am to die. I have lost my purpose. The rest of it I can handle. So, what if the body creaks a little. The loss of purpose leaves me with no reason to live and no way to die.”
In contrast to the above woman, Miss Mary McCorkle, a 104-year-old lady said the following when asked to summarize her life. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.” I can’t see, I can’t hear, I can’t walk, and my hair is falling out, but every day I live the world is more beautiful. I can still read my large-print Bible, watch the changing seasons from my window, and do some baking and canning from my wheelchair.”
It is evident that Mary’s life was brimming over with everyday purpose and hope which kept her in touch with life and caused her to enjoy every day of it.
Hope and a sense of purpose are so essential ingredients to the quality and enjoyment of life. Victor Hugo is quoted as saying, “The word which God has written in the brow of every person is HOPE.” And an Irish proverb states, “HOPE is the physician of every misery.”
Hope and purpose is essential for living at any time, but especially so in the hard times of adversity and difficulty. Hope and purpose are heavenly gifts given us to enable our looking forward with confidence, knowing that even if the future holds suffering and death, it will be okay because Jesus Christ has gone before, prepared the way, and promised to never leave nor forsake us.
For the Christian believer, hope is neither a message of escape nor a hollow promise of avoiding all problems and sufferings. Our “living” hope and purpose is firmly anchored in the biblical good news that for every today, tomorrow, and for eternity, there is a future for each of us because a sovereign, almighty, all-loving God is in it. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” (1 Peter 1:3).
A multitude of health research studies confirm that having a future orientation is critical for any person to maintain physical and mental health throughout their later life. It is a well-documented fact that hopelessness quickly and completely drains the energies of life and purpose from any human being, regardless of race, creed, gender, or wealth.
Perhaps the most destructive thing our selfish, me-focused, American culture has done to its aging population, is to deprive them of any hope and purpose by ignoring them or treating them as if their future is empty and meaningless. Unfortunately, our present culture is also doing the same with those persons in our communities who are the underprivileged, dependent, or different from us.
Yes, every Christian church has persons in their midst and neighborhood, who are suffering various losses with much pain and grief, and with diminished hope become discouraged and depressed. For that reason, Jesus Christ commissions us to extend love, compassion, and support, from the whole church community to these persons, enabling them to discover and hold onto a hope and purpose that both anchors their soul and energizes their life, even to moment of death.
May our prayer and life mission be to enrich the life of every friend and neighbor in ways that enables them to say of their life, “I enjoyed every minute of it.” We will be blessed in doing so!
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13).
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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 17, 2021
Ray M. Geigley
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
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