Growing green plantHope. It is such a powerful word. It is foundational to the Christian life. We sing:

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness….”

Yet hope is fragile, too. Job, in the midst of His despair, revealed how life…and even friends…can erode our hope.

[blockquote author=”Job 17:11 (NLT)” link=”” target=”_blank”]

My days are over.
My hopes have disappeared.
My heart’s desires are broken.
[/blockquote]

At another point, Job would tell his “friends,”

[blockquote author=”Job 14:19 (NLT)” link=”” target=”_blank”]…as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people’s hope.[/blockquote]

It seems we have the ability to give hope and take it away. As leaders, that ought to make us stop and think. What are we saying to those God has placed in our realm of influence, our co-laborers? Are we giving encouragement or discouragement? Yes, we need to be realistic in our assessment of situations, performance, and actions. But can we do it in a way that gives hope?

My friend Don McMinn, in a recent blog, told of a couple he was counseling who was having major marital issues. They sat at the far ends of the couch, illustrating the anger and hatred they were experiencing. At one point he told them, “You have a toxic relationship.” The couple never came back. The wife said that phrase stuck in their minds. She told Don, “We left with no hope.”

That was a turning point for Don. No hope. McMinn said the lesson for him was, “I must always be a purveyor of hope.”

England faced its darkest days during World War II. Winston Churchill could not just gloss over the problems facing them. Yet, as a leader, he knew he had to give the people hope of some sort. Don McMinn tells of the Prime Minister’s assessment of the situation.

After the fall of France to the Nazis, many in England felt defeated, and a sense of resignation and impending doom hovered over the populace. In a speech given to the British House of Commons, Churchill embraced the gravity of the situation—“The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us”—but he also spoke a message of hope and optimism that promoted a firm resolve and determination in the hearts of his countrymen—“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour”.

Someone may walk into your office today, this week, in need of hope. You may be facing a discouraging situation with your ministry. What will you say to yourself? What will you say to encourage others and strengthen them? How will you lead?

[blockquote author=”Psalm 39:7 (NLT)” link=”” target=”_blank”]
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God![/blockquote]