Hope is a precious commodity. It keeps people going when everyone else wants to quit. Hope drove the colonists who came to America centuries ago to believe they could have a better life. Hope drove the colonies to believe they could free themselves from the iron rule of Great Britain, to obtain a future for themselves and their families.

Those of us who were taught American history know of the crisis the Continental Army faced at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. Gen. George Washington wrote to a friend:

“We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency [urgency] of the times.”

The Union Army, facing one battlefield defeat after another, continued to fight for freedom and the abolishment of slavery. As thousands of young soldiers were dying on the beaches of Normandy or Tarawa or Iwo Jima, they still fought to bring freedom to much of the world from tyranny (Nazis, fascist Italy, Imperial Japan). Hope for a better future drove them on.

Since Vietnam, it’s been a reality that the warriors win the battles, the politicians lose the wars. Still, they fight so others might have the hope of freedom. I can give many more illustrations, but I think you get my point.

But let me point out another way that hope is important to our nation. As progressives attempt to rewrite our history, we need to constantly remind succeeding generations of the godly heritage of our nation. From Christopher Columbus, divinely guided to the New World, to the explorers who followed, most were guided by the desire to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the New World.

But where good tries to advance, evil will not be far behind. While Catholic priests wanted to bring spiritual freedom, the lust for gold and riches brought the conquistadors. But hope drove them forward anyway. The Pilgrims and the Puritans hoped the New World would be where all could worship freely!

The Puritan’s Mayflower Compact was to be a compact with their God that we would be a covenant people. The Founding Fathers for the most part were men of faith and modeled this new form of government based on biblical principles. These guided us for over 200 years until the forces of evil began to undermine these once dearly held principles.

Today we see the foundations crumbling. Government, business, and military leaders have become corrupted. This president and his administration are the most incompetent in history. People are losing hope.

But there is hope for America. It will happen when we return to the faith of our Founding Fathers; when our hearts are broken before a Holy God; when we repent of the evil intent of our hearts and humble ourselves before Him. God will respond by fulfilling His promise to us in II Chronicles 7:14:

“If My people who are called by My Name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, will forgive their sins and will heal their land.”

If you have HOPE, your future is never hopeless.

Something to pray about!